'A 


HINA 

AN  D 

H FAR-EAST 


.1  . I 0 . 


Wuohgiejtf 


PRINCETON,  N.  J. 


% 


% 


Purchased  by  the  Hamill  Missionary  Fund. 


Division 


.BG3 


Section 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2016 


https://archive.org/details/chinafareast00blak_0 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


CHINA  AND  THE 
FAR  EAST 


CLARK  UNIVERSITY  LECTURES 


EDITED  BY  \ 

GEORGE  h/bLAKESLEE^^%££/i 

HEAD  OF  THE  DEPARTMENT  OF  HISTORY, 

CLARK  UNIVERSITY 


NEW  YORK 

THOMAS  Y.  CROWELL  & CO. 
PUBLISHERS 


Copyright,  1910 

By  THOMAS  Y.  CROWELL  & CO, 


Published,  March,  igio 


PREFACE 


The  following  chapters  were  first  delivered  as  ad- 
dresses during  the  recent  second  decennial  celebration  of 
the  founding  of  Clark  University.  Under  the  general 
direction  of  the  President,  Dr.  G.  Stanley  Hall,  each 
Department  arranged  for  a gathering  of  specialists  who 
should  give  a series  of  lectures  upon  topics  of  present  in- 
terest in  its  special  field.  The  Department  of  History 
held  a conference  upon  China  and  the  Far  East.  The 
aim  was  two-fold:  first,  to  emphasize  the  importance  of 
presenting  in  school  and  college  work  the  leading  features 
of  the  development  of  the  Eastern  world — a subject  that 
better  illustrates  the  working  of  the  laws  of  history, 
and  is  of  more  vital  importance  to  the  civilization  of  to- 
day, than  much  that  forms  the  subject  matter  of  the 
usual  history  courses ; second,  to  do  its  part  in  furthering 
a more  general  and  accurate  knowledge  of  Far  Eastern 
conditions. 

During  the  nineteen  sessions  of  the  conference,  the 
lectures  and  papers  of  the  forty-five  authorities  who  took 
part  in  the  meetings  covered  nearly  every  aspect  of  the 
situation  in  the  Orient — political,  social,  economic, 
military,  educational  and  religious.  It  was  the  original 
intention  to  publish  all  of  the  proceedings  in  a single 
volume,  but  as  this  would  make  the  work  of  unwieldy 
size,  it  was  decided  to  exclude  the  shorter  addresses,  to- 
gether with  all  the  material  upon  the  Philippines  and 
India,  and  to  publish  only  certain  of  the  more  formal 
papers  upon  China,  Japan  and  Korea.  Each  of  the 
present  chapters  deals  with  a distinct  topic ; together  they 
cover  progressively  the  field  of  what  is  both  most  inter- 


IV 


PREFACE 


esting  and  most  vital  in  the  situation  of  China  and  Korea 
at  least.  Several  of  the  addresses  upon  the  Philippines 
and  India  will  be  published  in  the  early  numbers  of  a 
new  journal  soon  to  be  issued  at  Clark  University,  which 
will  deal  with  the  problems  connected  with  the  attempts 
to  extend  western  civilization  to  peoples  less  highly 
developed. 

The  Department  wishes  to  express  its  grateful  rec- 
ognition of  the  kindness  of  those  who,  by  their  papers 
and  lectures,  made  the  conference  a success.  It  is  be- 
lieved that  the  interest  in  these  meetings  upon  the  Far 
East  has  been  so  genuine  that  it  will  warrant  the  Uni- 
versity in  holding  a similar  conference  each  succeeding 
autumn. 

“ The  Problem  of  the  Pacific,”  said  President  Taft 
this  summer,  “ is  the  greatest  problem  now  before  the 
American  people.”  This  volume  is  given  to  the  public 
in  the  hope  that  it  may  be  of  some  service  in  helping  to 
present  the  facts,  in  accordance  with  which  America  must 
attempt  to  do  her  part  in  solving  this  problem.  It  is, 
too,  our  most  earnest  and  sincere  wish,  that  these  chap- 
ters may  help  to  bring  about  a more  sympathetic  under- 
standing of  Far  Eastern  peoples;  an  appreciation  that, 
after  all,  in  the  essentials  of  life,  in  their  faults  and 
their  virtues,  they  are  much  like  ourselves;  and  a rec- 
ognition that,  with  all  of  their  other  qualities,  they  have 
much  of  strength  and  manliness  and  nobility. 

George  H.  Blakeslee. 

Clark  University,  Worcester  Massachusetts, 

January  5,  1910. 


CONTENTS 


I 


Introduction  .... 
Dr.  George  H.  Blakeslee. 


The  Position  of  China  in  World  Politics  . 

Dr.  Archibald  C.  Coolidge,  Professor  of  History  in 
Harvard  University,  Vice-President  of  the  East 
Asiatic  Club,  and  author  of  “ The  United  States  as 
a World  Power.” 


II 

A Sketch  of  the  Relations  between  China 
AND  the  Western  World 

Hon.  Chester  Holcombe,  formerly  Acting  Minister 
to  China,  and  author  of  “ The  Real  Chinaman  ” and 
“ The  Real  Chinese  Question.” 


Ill 

A Sketch  of  the  Relations  between  the 
United  States  and  China 

Dr.  F.  W.  Williams,  Professor  of  Modern  Oriental 
History  in  Yale  University,  author  (with  S.  W. 
Williams)  of  “ The  Middle  Kingdom  ” and  “ China 
and  Japan.” 


VI 


CONTENTS 


ly 


The  Need  of  a Distinctive  American  Policy 
IN  China 

Mr.  T.  F.  Millard,  author  of  “The  New  Far  East” 
and  “ America  and  the  Far  Eastern  Question.” 


V 


The  History  and  the  Economics  of  the 
Foreign  Trade  of  China 

Mr.  H.  B.  Morse,  formerly  of  the  Imperial  Chinese 
Customs  Service,  decorated  by  the  Chinese  Em- 
peror, author  of  “ The  Trade  and  Administration 
of  the  Chinese  Empire.” 


VI 

America’s  Trade  Relations  with  China  . 

Mr.  John  Foord,  Secretary  of  the  American  Asiatic 
Association. 


VII 

Monetary  Conditions  in  China 

Dr.  J,  VV.  Jenks,  Professor  of  Political  Economy 
in  Cornell  University,  Special  Commissioner  of  the 
War  Department,  United  States,  to  Investigate  Chi- 
nese Finance. 


PACK 

83 


95 


109 


121 


CONTENTS 


VIII 

The  Present  Situation  in  Manchuria — Com- 
merce, Tr.\de,  and  International  Politics  . 

Mr.  Willard  Straight,  recently  Consul-General  at 
Mukden. 


IX 

The  Opium  Problem — Its  History  and  Present 
Condition 

Dr.  Hamilton  Wright,  Representative  of  the  United 
States  at  the  recent  International  Opium  Con- 
ference at  Shanghai. 


X 

The  Chinese  Army — Its  Development  and 
Present  Strength 

Major  Eben  Swift,  General  Staff,  United  States 
Army. 


XI 

Conditions,  Favorable  and  Otherwise,  in 
China's  Development 

• Dr.  Amos  P.  Wilder,  Consul-General  at  Shanghai. 

XII 

The  Chinese  Student  in  America  .... 

Mr.  H.  F.  Merrill,  of  the  Imperial  Chinese  Cus- 
toms Service,  Supervisor  of  the  Chinese  Students 
in  the  United  States,  decorated  by  the  Chinese 
Emperor. 


vii 

PAGE 

133 


149 


177 


187 


197 


CONTENTS 


viii 


XIII 

The  New  Learning  of  China — Its  Status  and 
Outlook 223 

Dr.  D.  Z.  Sheffield,  President  of  Union  College, 
Tungchou,  North  China. 

XIVi 

The  History  of  Christian  Missions  in  China  245 

Professor  Harlan  P.  Beach,  of  Yale  University, 
author  of  “ Dawn  on  the  Hills  of  T’ang  ” and 
“ Geography  and  Atlas  of  Protestant  Missions.” 

XV 

The  Progress  of  Religious  Education  in  China  277 

Dr.  Edward  C.  Moore,  Parkman  Professor  in 
Harvard  University. 


XVI 

The  Chinese  in  Hawaii — An  Example  of  Suc- 
cessful Assimilation 295 

Mr.  A.  F.  Griffiths,  M.  A.,  President  of  Oahu  Col- 
lege, Honolulu. 


JAPAN 

XVII 

Japan’s  Relation  to  China 317 

Dr.  Kan-Ichi  Asakawa,  of  Yale  University,  author 
of  “ The  Russo-Japanese  Conflict”  and  “The  Early 
Institutional  Life  of  Japan.” 


CONTENTS 


IX 


XVIII 

PAGE 

Japan  and  the  United  States 351 

Dr.  Jokichi  Takamine,  President  of  the  Nippon 
Club,  New  York. 


XIX 

The  Strength  and  Efficiency  of  the  Japanese 
Army 359 

Major  Eben  Swift,  General  Staff,  United  States 
Army. 


KOREA 

XX 

The  Awakening  of  Korea 369 

Hon.  Horace  N.  Allen,  formerly  Envoy  Extraordi- 
nary and  Minister  Plenipotentiary  from  the  United 
States  to  the  Kingdom  of  Korea,  decorated  by  the 
Korean  Emperor,  author  of  “ Foreign  Relations 
of  Korea  ” and  “ Korea,  Fact  and  Fancy.” 


XXI 

The  Japanese  Administration  in  Korea  . . 397 

Professor  George  Trumbull  Ladd,  LL.  D.,  Yale 
University,  decorated  by  the  Japanese  Emperor, 
author  of  “ In  Korea  with  Marquis  Ito.” 


X CONTENTS 

XXII 

PAGE 

Religious  Conditions  in  Korea 437 

Rev.  Ernest  F.  Hall,  of  the  Presbyterian  Mission, 

Korea. 


INTRODUCTION 


“ The  Pacific  Ocean,  its  shores,  its  islands,  and  the  vast 
region  beyond,  will  become  the  chief  theater  of  events  in 
the  world’s  great  Hereafter” — this  was  a prophecy  of 
William  H.  Seward,  fifty  years  ago.  In  our  own  time, 
Theodore  Roosevelt  has  expressed  the  same  belief : “ The 
Mediterranean  era,”  he  says,  “ died  with  the  discovery 
of  America.  The  Atlantic  era  is  now  at  the  height  of 
its  development  and  must  soon  exhaust  the  resources  at 
its  command.  The  Pacific  era.  destined  to  be  the  great- 
est of  all,  ...  is  just  at  the  dawn.” 

If  this  be  true,  if  the  Pacific  is  to  be  the  center  of  the 
world’s  interest,  then  whatever  vitally  affects  the  coun- 
tries on  the  Asiatic  side  of  the  Pacific — ^the  lands  which 
make  up  the  Far  East — ^must  be  of  fundamental  im- 
portance in  the  development  of  the  worldJs  civilization. 
And  there  is  a movement  of  vital  importance  taking  place 
in  the  Far  East:  there  is  a change  going  on  which  con- 
stitutes an  epoch  of  much  the  same  significance  in  the 
Orient  as  was  the  period  of  the  French  Revolution  in 
the  history  of  Europe.  The  Far  East  is  coming  to  the 
stage  of  constitutional  self-government.  This  means 
that  each  of  the  great  countries  of  that  part  of  the  world 
will  eventually  control  at  least  its  own  local  affairs;  and 
control  them  by  a government  in  which  the  people  shall 
express  themselves  by  constitutional  methods. 

This  advance  is  merely  in  accord  with  the  natural  law 
of  political  evolution,  as  is  clearly  shown  by  the  history 
of  Europe.  From  the  fall  of  the  Roman  empire  to  the 


XU 


INTRODUCTION 


present  day,  Europe,  as  a whole,  has  passed  through 
three  quite  distinct  stages  of  government:  first,  feudal- 
ism ; then,  absolutism ; and  finally,  constitutionalism. 

When  the  Roman  empire  was  overthrown  by  the  Ger- 
man tribes  in  the  fourth  and  fifth  centuries,  chaos  was 
the  result ; but  chaos  soon  came  to  be  tempered  by  feud- 
alism, which  has  been  well  called  “ organized  anarchy.” 
During  the  following  and  seemingly  stagnant  centuries 
of  the  Middle  Ages  there  was  a very  slow  improvement 
in  all  that  goes  to  make  up  civilization.  Commerce  and 
industry  developed ; learning  was  extended ; cities  came 
into  existence ; until  finally  the  picturesque  castle  and  the 
mailed  knight  no  longer  satisfied  the  governmental  needs 
of  the  existing  society.  Europe  had  simply  outgrown 
feudalism ; it  had  come  to  need  above  all  else  a strong 
central  power  which  should  establish  order  and  assure 
protection.  So  feudalism  was  replaced  by  absolutism. 
This  change  began  in  many  of  the  countries  of  Europe 
about  the  middle  of  the  fifteenth  century,  and  is  as- 
sociated with  such  rulers  as  Henry  the  VIII.  in  England, 
Louis  the  XI.  and  the  XIV.  in  France,  and  Charles  the 
V.  and  Philip  the  II.  in  Spain. 

After  kings  had  crushed  feudalism  and  become 
well-nigh  absolute,  Europe  still  continued  to  develop, 
until,  after  some  three  centuries  it  no  longer  needed  an 
unrestrained  power  to  enforce  order.  Absolutism  was 
in  turn  outgrown.  The  people  were  at  last  ready  to  con- 
trol their  own  destinies  and  direct  their  own  rulers.  So 
constitutionalism  came  in.  In  England  it  was  an  unusu- 
ally early  growtli,  but  continental  Europe  received  its 
constitutions  from  the  impulse  of  the  French  Revolu- 
tion. 

A little  over  a century  ago,  then,  there  was  not  a 
single  leading  power  in  continental  Europe  which  had 
a constitutional  form  of  government ; to-day  every  coun- 


INTRODUCTION  xiii 

try,  even  Russia  and  Turkey,  has  some  form  of  constitu- 
tion. 

This  epoch,  this  constitution-securing  epoch,  which 
Europe  is  just  completing,  Asia  has  just  begun.  This 
should  occasion  no  surprise,  for  in  a broad,  general  way, 
Asia  has  had  much  the  same  governmental  evolution  as 
has  Europe.  The  great  countries  of  the  East,  Japan, 
China,  and  India  have  had  their  era  of  feudalism,  their 
era  of  absolutism ; these  are  naturally  followed  by  an  era 
of  constitutionalism.  The  countries  of  Europe,  to  be 
sure,  passed  from  one  period  to  another  with  greater 
uniformity  than  have  those  of  Asia,  for  France,  Ger- 
many, Spain  and  England  have  always  been  in  close  mu- 
tual contact,  so  that  any  change  in  one  at  once  hastened 
a similar  change  in  the  others.  In  Asia,  during  the  past 
two  thousand  years  Japan,  China  and  India  have,  for  the 
most  part,  been  isolated,  each  from  the  others.  Never- 
theless, their  development  has  been,  in  fundamental  re- 
spects, substantially  that  of  Europe. 

In  Japan,  after  the  semi-mythical  ages  were  past,  there 
grew  up  an  imperial  state,  much  like  the  Roman  empire. 
Gradually,  however,  this  central  power  declined;  strong 
families  made  themselves  practically  independent,  till 
finally  there  came  the  age  of  full-fledged  Japanese  feud- 
alism. There  were  the  strong  castles,  the  armored 
knights,  the  miserable  peasants,  and  the  proud  hereditary 
local  dukes  and  counts.  To  be  sure,  the  Japanese  castles 
had  a peculiar  architecture,  and  the  knights’  armor 
was  not  made  of  chain  mail,  but  in  all  essentials  the 
feudalism  of  Japan  and  that  of  Europe  were  the  same. 
When  Commodore  Perry  opened  Japan  to  the  world,  it 
was  still  in  this  feudal  period ; but  forces  were  at  that 
time  already  at  work  which,  had  the  country  never  been 
brought  into  contact  with  the  outside  world,  would  very 
probably  have  overthrown  feudalism  and  replaced  it  by 


XIV 


INTRODUCTION 


a strong  absolutism.  As  it  was,  contact  with  the  West 
hastened  changes  which  were  already  taking  place. 
Feudalism  was  abolished.  Then,  twenty  years  later, 
constitutional  government  was  introduced.  Thus  Japan, 
by  the  aid  of  Western  example,  passed  from  feudalism 
to  constitutionalism  in  two  decades — something  which  it 
took  Europe  well-nigh  four  centuries  to  accomplish. 

In  China  there  was  a well-marked  period  which  is  al- 
ways known  as  the  feudal  age.  It  lasted  for  several  cen- 
turies, coming  to  an  end  shortly  before  the  beginning  of 
the  Christian  era.  During  all  of  this  time  there  was  an 
emperor  who  nominally  and  theoretically  ruled  over  the 
whole  country,  but  actually  was  almost  as  powerless  as 
were  the  early  Capetian  kings  in  the  days  of  European 
feudalism.  Real  power  in  China  was  in  the  hands  of  the 
hereditary  and  practically  independent  rulers  of  the 
provinces  and  districts,  just  as  real  power  in  feudal 
France  was  held  by  such  princes  as  the  dukes  of  Bur- 
gundy or  the  counts  of  Champagne.  Feudalism,  how- 
ever, was  finally  overthrown  in  China,  and  the  present 
imperial  power  was  established — although  it  must  be 
admitted  that  the  government  is  still  somewhat  decen- 
tralized. The  marked  slowness  of  historical  evolution 
in  this  country  is  due  to  the  fact  that  China  is  a world 
by  itself,  and,  till  very  recently,  has  lacked  the  stimulus 
of  competition  or  comparison  with  outside  nations.  China, 
then,  had  her  feudal  era ; outgrew  it ; came  to  her  abso- 
lute era ; has  been  living  in  that  for  some  centuries ; and 
in  accordance  with  natural  historical  laws,  should  be 
nearly  ready  to  pass  to  some  form  of  popular  govern- 
ment. 

India  shows  this  same  general  development.  The 
Mogul  empire  in  the  sixteenth  century  was  the  first  to 
establish  itself  for  any  length  of  time  over  the  greater 
number  of  the  warring  states  of  the  peninsula.  In  1707* 


INTRODUCTION 


XV 


however,  this  empire  went  to  pieces,  and  though  the 
imperial  name  remained,  political  anarchy  everywhere 
resulted.  Petty  princes  and  military  adventurers  strug- 
gled each  against  the  others,  and  carved  out  small  ter- 
ritories for  themselves,  much  as  was  done  in  Europe  in 
the  early  days  of  feudalism,  after  Charlemagne’s  em- 
pire was  broken  up.  Into  this  political  chaos  came  the 
British  East  India  Company,  which,  as  it  developed  into 
the  British  Indian  Empire,  gradually  brought  to  the 
country  a real  unity  and  a strong  central  government. 
For  the  first  time  in  her  history,  peace  and  order 
were  established  throughout  the  whole  land.  In  this 
way  the  era  of  absolutism  and  unity  came  to  India,  an 
era  in  which  India  has  now  lived  for  upwards  of  a cen- 
tury, Here,  too,  it  is  only  to  be  expected  that  eventually 
the  country  will  pass  to  some  form  of  constitutional  self- 
government. 

This  great  era  of  constitutional  self-rule  the  countries 
of  Asia  have  already  entered,  their  normal  rate  of  po- 
litical progress  having  been  marvelously  quickened  by 
contact  with  the  nations  of  the  West.  Twenty-one  years 
ago,  not  a single  state  in  Asia  had  any  form  of  constitu- 
tion : to-day,  with  the  insignificant  exception  of  Siam  and 
Afghanistan,  every  country  on  the  continent  either  has  a 
constitution  or  has  decreed  the  establishment  of  one.  Just 
twenty  years  ago  a constitution  was  declared  in  force  in 
Japan ; since  which  time  the  Japanese  government  has 
been  representative  and  parliamentary.  Four  years  ago 
Russia,  which  it  must  be  remembered  is  almost  as  much 
an  Asiatic  as  it  is  an  European  power,  was  forced  to 
grant  the  famous  October  Constitution.  However  limited 
this  may  be,  it  yet  gives  to  the  people  of  Siberia  the  priv- 
ilege of  electing  delegates  who  represent  them  upon  the 
floor  of  the  national  Russian  Duma. 

Three  years  ago  a constitution  was  proclaimed  in  Per- 


XVI 


INTRODUCTION 


sia.  The  people  of  this  peculiarly  Oriental  country  rose 
in  revolt  to  demand  self-government  and  a parliament. 
They  have  since  defeated  the  armed  reaction  which  fol- 
lowed, have  deposed  the  Sultan,  and  established  their 
new  regime  more  firmly  than  before.  Within  the  past 
year  Turkey,  the  land  of  the  “ unspeakable  Turk,”  a 
country  entirely  Asiatic  in  race  and  civilization,  and  very 
largely  so  geographically,  has  overthrown  its  absolutism, 
deposed  its  Sultan,  and  established  constitutionalism. 

In  China  a constitution  has  been  promised  by  the  im- 
perial power.  September  2,  1906,  the  Empress  Dowager 
issued  the  decree : “ Let  there  be  no  delay  in  making 

China  a constitutional  government.”  In  1916,  when  it  is 
thought  the  people  will  be  fully  prepared  for  it,  there  is 
to  be  a Chinese  Parliament,  the  Lower  House  of  which 
will  be  elected  by  popular  vote.  This  past  fall,  in  Octo- 
ber, Provincial  Legislative  Assemblies  met  for  the  first 
time  in  Chinese  history ; while  during  this  present  year 
there  is  to  be  convened  at  Peking  a national  Provisional 
Parliament. 

Thus  every  one  of  the  leading  independent  states  of 
Asia,  Japan,  Russia,  China,  Persia  and  Turkey  are  to- 
day either  constitutional  or  are  becoming  so.  This  same 
tendency,  moreover,  is  seen  in  such  countries  as  India 
and  the  Philippines,  which  are  held  as  dependencies  or 
colonies  of  some  Western  power.  India  is  to-day  strug- 
gling to  obtain  constitutional  self-government.  The  pres- 
ent unrest  in  that  land  is  profound  and  far-reaching; 
its  true  import  may  be  judged  from  the  statements  of 
English  political  leaders  and  from  the  discussions  by  the 
more  thoughtful  writers.  “ The  present  agitation,”  says 
an  American  scholar,  “ is  not  the  expression  of  a transient 
or  superficial  discontent,  but  ...  is  a part  of  the 
new  awakening  of  the  East.”  Again,  we  read  from  the 
pen  of  a native : “ India  is  going  through  a great  trans- 


INTRODUCTION 


xvn 


formation,”  and  addressing  the  English,  he  adds,  “ it  is  a 
new  India  which  you  have  to  deal  with.”  An  English 
army  officer  recently  testified : “ One  fact  is  tolerably 

certain.  . . . There  is  now  no  question  that  a wave  of 
unrest  is  pervading  India.  ...  It  is  universal.  . . . 
It  is  the  slow  growth  of  many,  many  years.” 

That  England  can  forever  govern  this  capable  and 
highly  civilized  nation  of  almost  three  hundred  million 
people,  against  their  strong,  continued  opposition,  is  un- 
thinkable. As  Goldwin  Smith  very  recently  declared,  in 
speaking  of  the  future  of  English  domination  in  India: 
“ Some  day  the  end  must  come.” 

Some  day  every  great  dependency  in  the  East  must 
control  its  own  local  affairs;  it  may  become  completely 
independent,  or  may  remain  in  the  position  of  such  a 
colony  as  Australia  or  New  Zealand,  but  self-governing 
it  surely  must  be.  The  recognition  of  this  fact,  and  of 
the  latent  capacity  of  the  dependent  peoples  in  the  East, 
is  bringing  about  as  profound  a change  in  the  colonial 
policy  of  the  Western  powers  in  the  Orient,  as  is  notice- 
able in  the  government  of  the  independent  states. 

It  is  America  which  has  the  honor  of  leading  the  way. 
The  United  States  in  its  Philippine  policy  aims 
neither  at  exploiting  a dependent  people,  as  most  colon- 
izing states  have  done  in  the  past ; nor  at  ruling  them 
permanently,  in  their  interest  but  against  their  wishes,  as 
England  believes  she  is  doing  in  India  and  in  Egypt.  It 
will  not  permit  therm  to  live  untutored  and  uncontrolled, 
while  they  are  still  in  the  school-age  of  nations,  as  the 
so-called  Anti-Imperialists  would  do ; but  aims  at  taking 
them  by  the  hand  and  leading  them  slowly  and  gradually 
along  the  pathway  well  marked  by  the  footprints  of  the 
most  highly  developed  nations,  until  they  are  fully  pre- 
pared to  enter  the  great  field  of  constitutional  self-gov- 
ernment. 


INTRODUCTION 


xviii 

To  attempt  to  rule  over  a dependent  Oriental  people 
forever,  is  simply  hopeless;  the  recent  history  of  Japan 
has  made  a laughing-stock  of  the  old  idea  of  the  infe- 
riority of  all  Asiatics  and  their  incapacity  for  modern 
self-rule.  On  the  other  hand,  to  leave  all  of  them  to 
themselves  until  they  may  be  fitted  for  a constitutional 
regime,  is  unwise.  There  are  those,  however,  who  would 
wish  to  leave  every  backward  race  to  work  out  its  own 
salvation ; who  would  permit  each  primitive  people  to  en- 
joy to  the  full  all  the  misery,  the  civil  anarchy  and  the 
recurring  wars  through  which  Europe  passed  on  its  way 
from  feudalism  to  constitutionalism.  But  the  world  to- 
day is  too  small,  the  demand  for  general  security  and 
peace  is  too  great,  and  the  need  for  the  product  of  the 
tropics  too  urgent  to  permit  any  considerable  section  of 
the  earth  to  be  fewced  off  as  an  ethnological  park  where 
backward  races  may  run  wild. 

The  constant  intercommunication  between  different 
countries,  the  general  and  increasing  desire  for  universal 
peace,  and  the  strongly  developing  sense  of  an  un- 
limited humanitarianism  are  making  this  world  of 
ours  every  decade  more  and  more  a family  of  races. 
And  the  race-children  in  this  world  family — chil- 
dren in  need  of  development  and  yet  in  the  school- 
age — should  be  under  instruction,  as  much  as  the  chil- 
dren in  the  cities  of  America.  It  must,  however,  be  a 
school  in  which  there  is  finally  a graduation,  and  from 
which  the  race-child  can  pass,  sufficiently  matured  to 
take  his  place  as  a man  in  the  world.  The  Western 
powers  have  been  school  teachers  to  the  East  for  over 
four  hundred  years,  but  the  United  States  is  the  first  and 
only  nation  school  teacher  to  found  a school  in  which  a 
race-child  may  look  definitely  forward  to  graduation — 
to  a time  when  its  school  days  shall  be  over. 

This  policy  of  developing  the  Filipinos  by  granting 


INTRODUCTION 


XIX 


them  a continually  greater  share  in  their  own  govern- 
ment, has,  in  the  main,  been  honestly  and  rapidly  car- 
ried out.  The  United  States  to-day  permits  the  Filipinos 
to  hold — and  in  the  great  majority  of  cases  to  hold  by 
popular  election — all  the  local  town  offices,  two-thirds  of 
the  provincial  offices,  the  vast  majority  of  the  judicial, 
and  over  sixty  per  cent,  of  the  civil  service,  positions,  and, 
now  that  a national  assembly  has  been  organized,  it  gives 
them  one-half  of  the  full  legislative  power  in  the  islands. 
That  is,  year  after  year  the  Filipinos  have  been  granted 
a greater  share  in  administration,  a greater  control  in 
the  government,  while  the  Americans  have  been  re- 
stricted more  and  more  to  the  task  of  supervision  and 
general  direction. 

This  American  policy,  which  was  originally  opposed 
and  well-nigh  laughed  at  by  the  colonial  administrators 
of  other  nations,  has  more  recently  been  followed  by  the 
British  government  in  India.  Ten  years  ago,  the  Eng- 
lish were,  upon  the  whole,  well  contented  with  the  char- 
acter and  methods  of  their  Indian  administration ; to-day 
there  is  a general  apprehension  among  thinking  people 
that  their  old  absolutistic  policy  is  breaking  down,  and 
that  something  new  in  principle  must  be  adopted.  The 
great  English  explorer  and  colonial  authority.  Sir  Harry 
Johnston,  says  in  a heart-searching  review  in  this  last 
August’s  “ Nineteenth  Century  ” : “ It  seems  to  me  that 
unless  we  can  . . . admit  the  demand  of  the  black, 
brown  and  yellow  peoples  under  our  sway  for  a voice, 
and  a slowly  increasing  voice,  in  their  own  destinies,  we 
must  be  prepared  to  face  an  awful  national  rebellion  in 
India  and  an  uprising  of  the  negroes  throughout  British 
Africa.”  Another  English  colonial  writer  has  declared 
wdthin  the  past  few  months:  “ We  must  give  them  (the 
people  of  India)  a reasonable  share,  commercially  and 
politically,  in  their  own  concerns.  This,  up  to  the  present, 


XX 


INTRODUCTION 


we  certainly  have  not  done.  . . .The  whole  of  the 
system  on  which  we  govern  India  must,  in  fact,  be  re- 
constituted afresh.”  Even  the  British  government  itself 
has  come  to  feel  that  radical  changes  must  be  made. 
This  is  seen  most  clearly  in  the  famous  reforms  which 
Lord  Morley  has  just  introduced  into  India;  to  certain 
of  the  highest  advisory  and  executive  councils  of  India 
one  or  two  natives  have  been  appointed,  and  in 
the  consultative  assemblies  in  the  provinces,  the  natives 
are  permitted  to  have  a majority  of  the  members, 
many  of  whom  are  elected.  These  councils  do  not, 
however,  possess  full  legislative  power,  as  does  the  Phil- 
ippine Assembly.  Lord  Morley,  by  his  reforms  in  in- 
creasing the  native  representation  in  the  government  of 
India,  is  following  along  the  path  which  America  has 
blazed  in  the  Far  East,  but  there  still  remains  this  differ- 
ence : the  United  States  publicly  aims  at  fitting  the  Fili- 
pinos for  self-government;  England  has  not  made  any 
such  promise  in  regard  to  India. 

In  the  general  and  relatively  rapid  transformation  from 
absolutism  which  is  taking  place  in  Asia,  this  new 
colonial  policy  is  the  only  one  which  will  sufficiently 
satisfy  the  native  peoples,  so  that  they  will  give  up 
their  agitation  for  immediate  independence,  and  co- 
operate with  the  sovereign  power  in  the  developing  of 
their  nation,  until  the  time  shall  come  when  it  will  be 
ready  for  complete  self-government.  This  has  been 
true  in  the  Philippines ; the  grant  of  a national  assembly 
did  more  than  everything  else  to  put  an  end  to  insurrec- 
tion and  to  bring  peace  to  the  islands.  To-day,  while  the 
mass  of  the  people  probably  desire  immediate  independ- 
ence, the  leaders  are  working  harmoniously  with  the 
American  authorities  in  the  carrying  out  of  the  policy 
of  training  their  people  for  constitutional  self-rule.  As 
for  India,  Mr.  Gokhale,  probably  the  best  known  native 


INTRODUCTION 


XXI 


leader,  has  recently  declared  that  the  relatively  small 
amount  of  self-government  granted  by  Lord  Morley’s 
reforms  has  saved  India  from  drifting  into  chaos. 

Much  the  same  general  situation  exists  in  Egypt  as  in 
India,  for  we  may  consider  Egypt  as  Asiatic,  since  it  is 
so  in  race  and  civilization.  It,  too,  is  profoundly  and 
growingly  dissatisfied,  and  demands,  in  the  words  of  a 
recent  Egyptian  petition  to  the  British  government, 
“ some  parlimentary  control  of  its  own  affairs.”  The 
petition  states,  further,  “ We  appeal  . . . with  confidence 
to  the  support  of  the  British  public  in  our  desire  to  ob- 
tain a sort  of  representative  assembly  with  limited 
powers.” 

All  the  lands  of  Asia,  whether  independent  or  de- 
pendent, are  now  turning  with  eagerness  to  a more  liberal, 
a more  popular  form  of  government.  For  centuries 
these  countries  had  been  plodding  along  the  path  of  po- 
litical evolution,  which  the  West  long  since  trod,  till  in 
our  own  time  the  pressure  from  America  and  from 
Europe  hastened  a development  which  otherwise  might 
have  lingered  for  decades.  So  rapid  has  this  progress 
now  become  that  some  of  the  Eastern  peoples — notably 
the  Japanese — seem  to  be  passing  at  a bound  over  whole 
periods  of  natural  development.  It  is  the  teaching,  the 
example,  and  the  inspiration  of  Western  civilization 
which  is  showing  the  nations  of  the  Far  East  how  to 
escape  the  suffering  and  horror  which  marked  the  birth 
of  political  liberty  in  Europe. 

There  are  still  peoples  in  the  Orient — some,  on  ac- 
count of  peculiar  political  conditions,  as  the  Indians; 
others,  on  account  of  general  backwardness  in  civiliza- 
tion, as  the  Filipinos — who  are  not  yet  prepared  for  full 
modern  self-government;  but  the  powers  which  control 
them  can  do  so  successfully  only  by  adopting  the  new 
colonial  policy — that  of  gradual  instruction  until  their 


XXll 


INTRODUCTION 


dependencies  shall  be  prepared  to  carry  on  alone  and 
unaided  the  work  of  further  advance. 

In  the  past  the  countries  of  Asia  were  isolated;  to-day 
a new  unity  has  been  given  to  them  through  their  con- 
tact with  the  West.  In  the  past  the  reform  movement 
was  urged  on  by  the  scattered  energies  of  single  states ; 
to-day  it  is  carried  forward  by  the  momentum  of  a con- 
tinent. And  these  reforms  are  little  more  than  begun : 
the  Far  East  is  still  in  the  very  midst  of  one  of  the  most 
profound  and  most  rapid  of  the  world’s  political  and  so- 
cial revolutions. 


G.  H.  B. 


China  and  the  Far  East 


I 

THE  POSITION  OF  CHINA  IN  WORLD 
POLITICS 

There  are  few  countries  about  which  opinion  has 
varied  more  often  and  more  completely  than  it  has  about 
China  in  the  course  of  the  last  hundred  years.  When 
the  nineteenth  century  opened,  the  Middle  Kingdom  was 
known  to  the  outside  world  only  through  a few  books, 
most  of  them  written  long  ago — books  some  of  which  re- 
tain a value  even  to  the  present  day,  but  others  were 
fanciful  in  the  extreme.  Few  living  Europeans  had 
visited  the  country.  Most  men  thought  of  China  as  a 
very  large,  rich,  magnificent  empire,  inhabited  by  an 
enormous  number  of  people  with  queer  manners  and  cus- 
toms. It  was  known  that  this  empire  had  had  a history 
and  a civilization  which  had  lasted  several  thousand 
years ; and  strange  as  that  history  and  civilization  ap- 
peared to  the  Western  world,  their  very  antiquity  and 
the  magnitude,  if  not  the  quality,  of  the  results,  were 
such  as  to  inspire  respect. 

The  few  strangers  who  had  a first  hand  opportunity 
of  judging,  namely,  the  colony  of  traders  at  Canton  and 
Macao,  felt  very  little  of  this  respect,  and  they  resented 
the  tone  of  lofty  superiority  assumed  by  the  Chinese,  as 
well  as  the  restrictions  imposed  upon  commerce.  Also, 
they  were  aware  that  the  military  power  of  the  Empire 
was  ridiculously  feeble.  These  foreigners  were  not  for 


2 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


the  most  part  men  of  a stamp  to  appreciate  the  higher  side 
of  Chinese  civilization,  but  all  its  weak  points  and  the 
decay  which  had  corrupted  the  Chinese  official  system 
were  evident  to  them.  They  had  come  to  China  to  make 
money,  and  they  rebelled  against  the  treatment  they  re- 
ceived, in  what  they  considered  a perfectly  legitimate 
occupation.  They  repaid  the  contempt  which  the  Chinese 
openly  expressed  for  them  as  barbarians  by  an  even 
greater  scorn  for  things  Chinese. 

After  the  event  of  the  Opium  War  and  the  Arrow 
War  and  the  Taiping  Rebellion  had  shown  the  whole 
world  the  weakness  of  the  Chinese  system,  the  opinion 
of  the  Empire  held  in  the  Treaty  Ports  became  the  one 
that  was  generally  accepted  by  the  outside  world.  In 
the  days  when  a few  thousand  English  and  French 
troops  captured  Peking,  when  a large  slice  of  territory 
was  seized  by  Russia  and  was  ceded  to  her  without  re- 
sistance or  quid  pro  quo,  and  when  the  imperial  author- 
ity for  years  proved  itself  incapable  of  putting  down  the 
rebellions  that  raged  in  many  parts  of  the  land,  China 
was  by  common  consent  regarded  as  a hopelessly  de- 
crepit power,  perhaps  on  the  verge  of  dissolution.  The 
proper  way  to  obtain  anything  in  dealing  with  her  was, 
in  the  opinion  of  the  time,  to  have  a prompt  and  drastic 
recourse  to  forcible  measures,  in  other  words  “ the  gun- 
boat policy." 

Gradually  this  sentiment  underwent  a change.  The 
reconquest  of  Eastern  Turkestan  showed  that,  when 
well  led,  the  Chinese  troops  were  capable  of  not  only 
fighting  bravely,  but  of  winning  victories.  The  impres- 
sion was  still  further  strengthened  by  the  so-called  Ton- 
king  War,  where  the  successes  were  far  from  all  being 
on  the  side  of  the  French.  In  the  Kuldja  dispute  it  was 
Russia  rather  than  China  that  yielded  from  fear  of  hos- 
tilities between  the  two  states.  Then,  too,  some  of  the 


CHINA  IN  WORLD  POLITICS 


3 


reforms  that  the  Chinese  were  beginning  to  introduce 
attracted  the  notice  of  the  outside  world.  The  famous 
statesman  and,  in  his  way,  reformer,  Li  Hung  Chang, 
enjoyed  an  international  reputation  which  increased  the 
prestige  of  his  country.  Many  people  starting  from  the 
impressive  figures  of  the  population  of  the  Empire,  rea- 
soned that  if  the  Chinese  could  train  their  soldiers  in 
Western  fashion — and  it  was  said  that  the  soldiers  of  Li 
Hung  Chang  at  least  were  so  trained — they  could  put 
into  the  field  such  armies  as  to  menace  the  very  existence 
of  Europe.  It  was  in  these  days  that  the  term  “ Yellow 
peril  ” first  came  into  use. 

The  Chinese-Japanese  war  of  1894-5  produced  a sharp 
revulsion  of  feeling.  A defeated  nation  usually  receives 
little  indulgence  from  the  rest  of  the  world.  Its  neigh- 
bors are  only  too  ready  to  prove  that  all  its  misfortunes 
are  the  fruit  of  its  faults,  and  have  been  richly  deserved. 
The  pitiable  weakness  of  Chinese  arms  and  the  inability 
of  the  imperial  authorities  to  control  the  course  of  af- 
fairs were  interpreted  as  showing  that  China  was  feeble 
in  every  way.  The  events  of  the  next  few  years,  such  as 
the  acquisition  of  spheres  of  influence  by  one  power  after 
another,  the  helplessness  of  the  Peking  Government  to 
resist  pressure  of  any  kind — served  to  confirm  the  belief 
that  China  was  on  the  point  of  dissolution,  or  at  least  so 
decadent  that  she  could  with  difficulty  be  kept  together. 
Her  role  in  the  world  was  henceforth  to  be  a purely 
passive  one.  We  can  judge  of  the  general  opinion  in 
which  she  was  held  at  that  day  by  the  titles  of  some  of 
the  books  that  came  out  about  her  in  foreign  lands — 
“ The  Breakup  of  China,”  “ The  Partition  of  China,”  and 
the  like. 

In  1900  the  Boxer  revolt  disturbed  a little  this  compla- 
cent theory.  The  Chinese  showed  a power  of  resistance 
which  availed  little  for  the  moment,  but  might  prove 


4 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


more  formidable  another  time.  The  fact  is  that  the  move- 
ment for  the  Westernization  of  their  institutions,  and 
particularly  for  the  modernization  of  their  means  of  de- 
fense, had  really  been  begun  many  years  before.  Bitter 
experience  had  taught  them  the  lesson  of  their  own  weak- 
ness. They  were  not,  however,  ready  to  accept  this  weak- 
ness as  more  than  temporary.  Patriotic  men  of  energy 
and  influence  became  convinced  of  the  necessity  of  thor- 
ough reform,  believing  that  these  reforms,  if  accom- 
plished, could  restore  to  their  country  something  of  its 
former  greatness.  Then  came  the  Russo-Japanese  War. 
Chinese  opinion,  thanks  to  the  preparation  of  the  previous 
year,  was  more  profoundly  impressed  by  the  victories  of 
the  once  despised  Japanese  over  the  mighty  Russians 
than  it  had  been  by  the  victories  of  these  same  Japanese 
over  the  Chinese  themselves  ten  years  earlier.  The  re- 
form movement  in  China  received  an  extraordinary  im- 
petus till  to-day  it  has  progressed  so  far  that  the  rest  of 
the  world  is  beginning  to  change  its  mind  once  more. 
The  titles  of  the  books  we  see  now  are  “ The  Awakening 
of  China,”  “ The  Reconstruction  of  China,”  and  others 
of  similar  import.  Of  course  there  are  still  many  skeptics, 
and  since  the  death  of  the  late  Empress  Dowager,  and 
the  disgrace  of  certain  well-known  liberal  officials  at  the 
hands  of  the  new  regime,  fresh  doubts  have  been  raised 
as  to  what  extent  the  reforms  arc  really  progressing. 
But  the  general  opinion  outside  still  seems  to  be  favor- 
able. 

In  the  relation  of  a country  to  its  neighbors,  we  may 
say  that  in  a certain  sense  it  plays  an  active  and  a pas- 
sive role,  that  is,  it  acts  positively  upon  others,  and  at 
the  same  time  it  serves  as  a motive  for  their  action.  We 
might  almost  compare  this  double  role  to  the  export  and 
import  sides  of  trade.  In  the  case  of  China  in  the  last 
century  the  passive  side  of  her  role  has  been  by  far  the 


CHINA  IN  WORLD  POLITICS 


5 


more  important.  She  has  done  little  to  them  and  they 
have  done  much  to  her.  She  has  suffered  greatly  in 
her  dealings  with  foreign  countries,  and  the  question 
whether  it  has  been  rather  through  her  fault  than  theirs 
does  not  affect  the  fact  of  her  losses.  In  immediate  ter- 
ritories she  has  ceded  formally  and  permanently  Hong- 
kong to  England;  Macao  (which  formerly  she  only 
leased  out)  to  Portugal;  Formosa  to  Japan.  By  leases 
which  come  dangerously  near  to  permanent  alienation 
she  has  given  up  Kiauchau  to  Germany ; Kwangchau- 
wan  to  France ; Kowloon  and  Weihaiwei  to  England ; 
the  Liaotung  peninsula  first  to  Russia  and  now  to  Ja- 
pan. These  cessions  are  embodied  in  treaties  which  she 
recognizes  as  valid.  Besides  this  she  has  practically  lost 
the  provinces  of  Manchuria  to  Russia  and  Japan.  She 
has  likewise  had  to  give  up  her  ancient  suzerainty  over 
the  Liukiu  Islands,  Burma,  Siam,  Anam,  Korea.  She 
has  been  obliged  to  submit  to  the  humiliation  of  allowing 
foreign  nations  to  arrogate  to  themselves  “ spheres  of  in- 
fluence ” in  her  own  undisputed  territory,  which  has  thus 
been  ear-marked  for  the  future  partition  with  which  she 
has  been  menaced.  Still,  when  all  is  said  and  done,  we 
have  to  remember  that  she  is  one  of  the  largest  and  per- 
haps the  most  populous  empire  in  the  world,  a country 
of  enormous  potential  resources,  and  one  with  which  all 
the  other  great  states  are  eager  to  develop  closer  rela- 
tions for  their  own  sakes  and,  they  loudly  assure  her,  for 
hers  also. 

During  the  greater  part  of  the  nineteenth  century 
Great  Britain  w'as  without  doubt  the  leading  power  in 
the  Far  East.  It  was  she  that  opened  up  China,  that 
fought  two  victorious  wars  wdth  her,  that  has  always  had 
the  greatest  trade,  and  that  has  organized  the  Chinese 
customs  service,  at  the  head  of  which  is  an  Englishman. 
From  the  first  there  have  been  more  Englishmen  in  the 


6 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


Empire  than  foreigners  of  all  the  other  Western  nations 
(excepting  the  Portuguese)  put  together.  For  many 
years  Great  Britain  led  in  the  concerted  action  of  the 
powers,  and  she  had  without  question  the  dominant  in- 
fluence among  them  at  Peking. 

France  took  part  in  the  second  war  with  China  and 
the  march  on  the.  capital.  Her  protectorate  over  the 
Roman  Catholic  missions  in  the  Empire  has  given  her  an 
influence  greater  than  what  she  has  obtained  from  her 
trade,  which  has  been  relatively  insignificant.  But  the 
prestige  of  France  in  the  Far  East  never  recovered  from 
the  results  of  the  war  with  Germany  in  1870.  It  is  true 
the  annexation  of  Tonking  established  her  on  the  southern 
edge  of  the  Empire  and  gave  her  a powerful  base  for 
future  operations.  But  in  spite  of  this,  French  influence 
at  Peking  has  in  recent  years  been  usually  overshadowed 
by  that  of  some  other  nation,  either  a rival  or  an  ally. 

The  connection  of  Russia  with  China  is  older  than  that 
of  the  other  European  nations.  Already  in  the  seven- 
teenth century  a first  treaty  was  signed  between  the  two 
empires.  Since  then  they  have  had  occasional  official 
communication  with  each  other,  and  a regular  trade  was 
maintained  overland  between  them ; but  their  relations 
were  not  close,  and  along  the  boundary  of  several  thou- 
sand miles  which  they  had  in  common,  little  happened  to 
attract  attention.  In  1859  and  i860,  profiting  by  the 
weakness  and  confusion  in  Peking  as  a result  of  the  Eng- 
lish and  French  invasion,  the  Russians  by  very  clever 
diplomacy  persuaded  the  Chinese  to  cede  to  them  the 
left  bank  of  the  Amur  River  and  a strip  of  territory  along 
the  coast.  This  cession  added  immeasurably  to  the 
strength  of  their  position  in  the  Far  East,  but  its  full 
results  could  not  be  felt  until  the  new  acquisition  had  been 
at  least  partially  settled,  and  still  more  until  it  had  been 
connected  with  the  rest  of  Russia  by  railway.  In  gen- 


CHINA  IN  WORLD  POLITICS 


r 


eral,  the  Russian  Government  rather  avoided  taking  part 
with  other  powers  in  affairs  of  common  concern  and 
looked  quietly  after  its  own  business. 

During  the  earlier  part  of  the  nineteenth  century  the 
trade  of  the  Americans  with  China  had  been  very  flour- 
ishing. American  missionaries,  too,  came  into  the  coun- 
try in  considerable  numbers,  so  that  American  interests 
in  the  Empire  and  American  influence  were  both  of  no 
small  importance.  But  from  about  the  time  of  the  Civil 
War  the  American  merchant  marine  in  the  Pacific  de- 
clined steadily,  and  thereafter,  although  the  situation  of 
the  representative  of  the  United  States  at  Peking  was  an 
honorable  one,  it  was  not  of  great  consequence. 

In  1894,  when  the  Chinese  and  Japanese  so  suddenly 
plunged  into  war,  the  relations  of  the  different  foreign 
powers  to  China  had  not  undergone  any  marked  change 
for  some  time.  Now,  beginning  with  the  outbreak  of 
hostilities,  we  have  to  note  a series  of  startling  events  and 
far-reaching  changes.  The  war  itself  came  as  a surprise 
to  everybody  except  the  Japanese.  Ifs  result  greatly 
enhanced  their  prestige,  though  the  check  they  received 
in  the  end,  when  they  were  forced  to  give  up  part  of  the 
territory  they  had  demanded,  slightly  tarnished  the  lustre 
of  their  glory.  Henceforth  Japan  was  recognized  as  be- 
ing a new  and  important  factor  in  Eastern  affairs,  if  not 
quite  one  of  the  first  magnitude.  To  England,  the  con- 
flict had  been  most  unwelcome.  Any  change  in  the  state 
of  the  Far  East  would  hardly  be  for  her  advantage; 
therefore,  when  the  trouble  began,  public  opinion  was 
frankly  hostile  to  Japan.  As  the  war  went  on,  this  at- 
titude was  modified,  and  by  the  time  it  was  ended  Eng- 
lish sjTnpathies  were  on  the  side  of  Japan,  the  coming 
power,  as  against  China,  the  decadent  one.  Then  oc- 
curred the  incident  of  the  combination  between  Germany, 
Russia,  and  France,  which  forced  the  Japanese  to  moder- 


8 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


ate  their  claims  for  indemnity.  England  found  herself 
in  a hard  position.  She  had  been  invited  to  join  with  the 
other  European  powers  in  putting  pressure  on  the  Japa- 
nese, but  this  she  was  unwilling  to  do.  She  was  now 
openly  friendly  to  them,  and  already  regarded  them  as 
possible  future  allies  against  Russia.  She  might  even 
have  taken  their  side,  but  it  would  have  involved  her  in 
very  serious  risks  in  view  of  the  strength  of  the  powers 
opposed  to  her.  Besides  it  would  have  been  an  attitude 
almost  too  violently  opposed  to  the  one  she  had  assumed 
a few  months  before  at  the  outbreak  of  hostilities,  and 
would  have  cost  her  the  good  will  of  China,  to  which  she 
attached  value.  All  things  considered,  the  British  Gov- 
ernment decided  to  follow  the  most  natural  and  easiest 
course  under  the  circumstances,  to  observe  neutrality, 
that  is  to  say,  to  do  nothing.  This  was  very  probably 
wise,  but  at  critical  times  inaction,  especially  in  the  East, 
is  interpreted  as  weakness.  British  prestige  received  a 
blow  from  which  it  has  never  entirely  recovered.  It  was 
still  further  damaged  by  the  disasters  to  English  arms 
during  the  Boer  War,  and  although  Great  Britain  by  the 
Anglo-Japanese  alliance  recovered  some  of  the  ground 
she  had  previously  held,  she  can  never  hope  to  hold 
again  in  Peking  the  dominating  position  she  once  did. 
There  are  now  too  many  rivals  for  the  place. 

Japan  was  indeed  not  the  only  power  to  appear  upon 
the  scene  in  the  last  years  of  the  nineteenth  century  as 
a new  active  factor  in  the  Far  Eastern  situation.  The 
events  of  the  war  were  soon  followed  by  others  equally 
unexpected  and  of  almost  equally  great  influence.  In 
1897  the  Germans  seized  and  occupied  the  harbor  of 
Kiauchau,  and  forced  the  Chinese  to  consent  to  their 
presence  there.  Germany  already  had  an  active  and 
growing  commerce  in  Eastern  waters,  but  until  then  po- 
litically had  kept  in  the  background,  even  when  she  had 


CHINA  IN  WORLD  ROLITICS 


9 


joined  the  coalition  against  Japan,  for  this  had  been  re- 
garded merely  as  a small  favor  to  Russia,  and  not  as  in- 
dicating any  sudden  departure  in  her  policy.  But  after 
the  occupation  of  Chinese  territory  and  the  sending  of  a 
German  fleet  under  the  Emperor’s  brother  to  Chinese 
waters,  and  various  other  demonstrations,  it  became  evi- 
dent to  the  world  that  Germany  intended  to  play  a lead- 
ing part  henceforward  in  Far  Eastern  politics. 

We  may  call  the  United  States  another  newcomer.  It 
had  long  had  a voice  in  Far  Eastern  affairs  without  as- 
piring to  dominate  them.  But  in  the  last  years  of  the 
nineteenth  century  the  revival  of  American  commerce 
in  China  helped  to  awaken  American  attention  to  what 
was  going  on  across  the  Pacific  and  a determination  to 
be  consulted  in  the  important  events  taking  place  there. 
The  immediate  cause,  however,  of  the  new  prominence 
of  the  United  States  was  the  acquisition  of  the  Philip- 
pines in  1898.  To  the  surprise  of  the  world,  as  well  as 
to  its  own,  the  United  States  suddenly  found  itself  a Far 
Eastern  power,  a near  neighbor  of  the  other  great  states, 
and  one  that  very  soon  took  an  active  share  in  the  in- 
ternational politics  of  the  day.  The  first  exhibition  of 
this  new  activity  was  Secretary  Hay’s  well-known  cir- 
cular in  1899  on  the  subject  of  the  “ open  door.” 

Meanwhile  Russia  had  abandoned  the  policy  of  silent 
growth  and  observation  she  had  pursued  for  so  long.  The 
Japanese  attempt  to  get  Port  Arthur  had  alarmed  her. 
Not  satisfied  with  balking  it,  she  showed  from  this  time 
on  an  energy  and  avidity  which  for  a number  of  years 
were  to  make  her  the  leading  figure  in  Far  Eastern  af- 
fairs. She  now  had  a strong  fleet  in  Asiatic  waters ; and 
at  Vladivostok  she  possessed  a well-fortified  naval  base. 
Thanks  to  recent  immigration,  Eastern  Siberia  was  be- 
ginning to  have  a considerable  Russian  population,  and 
the  approaching  completion  of  the  Trans-Siberian  rail- 


10 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


road  was  increasing  immeasurably  the  military  power  of 
Russia  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  both  China  and 
Japan.  Upon  China  she  was  able  to  bring  pressure  at 
any  point  along  their  common  frontier.  The  permission 
to  shorten  her  railway  by  building  it  across  Manchuria 
might  seem  only  a fair  reward  for  the  assistance  she  had 
rendered  the  Chinese  in  the  hour  of  their  distress.  But 
the  lease  of  the  Liaotung  Peninsula  was  an  act  of  ag- 
gressive imperial  policy  even  if  it  was  immediately  pro- 
voked by  the  German  seizure  of  Kiauchau.  The  troubles 
of  the  Boxer  Rebellion  made  the  Russians  masters  of 
Manchuria,  and  it  was  evident  from  the  first  that  at  least 
some  of  them  had  no  intention  of  giving  up  their  prey. 

Thus  we  see  that  at  the  opening  of  the  twentieth  cen- 
tury every  one  of  the  world  powers  was  interested,  and 
actively  interested,  in  Far  Eastern  affairs.  As  was  nat- 
ural, their  conflicting  interests  and  ambitions  produced 
rivalries  among  them,  and  they  soon  tended  to  form 
into  separate  groups.  At  one  time  the  alignment  con- 
sisted of  Russia  and  her  ally  France  on  the  one  side, 
usually,  though  not  always,  supported  by  Germany ; on 
the  other  were  England  and  her  ally  Japan,  who  could 
ordinarily  count  on  at  least  the  sympathy  of  the  United 
States.  Between  the  two  China  appeared  powerless. 

This  was  but  a few  short  years  ago ; since  then  we 
have  witnessed  another  change  of  the  kaleidoscope 
which  has  affected  the  attitude  of  every  one  of  the  parties 
interested. 

The  first  consequence  of  the  Russo-Japanese  War  was 
a general  recognition  of  the  power  of  new  Japan.  She 
had  proved  herself  far  stronger  than  people  had  sup- 
posed her  to  be,  and  since  the  treaty  of  peace  she  has  been 
adding  feverishly  to  her  military  equipment  so  that  to- 
day she  is  far  stronger  than  she  was  then.  Russia  has 
suffered  a very  severe  check,  which,  though  it  has  not 


CHINA  IN  WORLD  POLITICS 


II 


permanently  weakened  the  strength  of  the  Empire,  has 
diminished  its  situation  in  the  world  for  the  time  being. 
The  war  came  as  a surprise  to  the  Russian  people.  It 
was  never  popular,  and  its  outcome  has  disgusted  with 
ambitious  Asiatic  enterprises,  not  only  the  Russian  pub- 
lic, but  Russian  statesmen.  The  feeling  to-day  is  in  favor 
of  peace,  of  internal  reforms,  and  of  attention  to  Euro- 
pean rather  than  to  Asiatic  international  questions.  Many 
fear  further  hostility  on  the  part  of  Japan.  On  the  other 
hand,  it  is  not  at  all  impossible  that  Russia  and  Japan, 
moved  by  the  same  desire  to  keep  the  territory  they  con- 
trol in  Manchuria,  may  soon  not  only  follow  a common 
policy,  but  act  in  unison,  against  those  who  oppose  them. 

The  Anglo-Japanese  alliance  was  renewed  in  1905. 
Since  then  enthusiasm  for  it  has  rapidly  diminished.  The 
English  traders  in  the  Far  East  suffer  severely  from 
Japanese  competition ; the  English  self-governing  col- 
onies refuse  to  admit  Japanese  immigrants  of  the  labor- 
ing class,  and  there  are  not  a few  people  in  England  it- 
self who  fear  Japanese  influence  in  India,  and  look  on 
Japan  as  a dangerous  future  rival.  England  and  France, 
so  recently  in  danger  of  being  drawn  into  conflict  with 
one  another,  are  now  on  the  best  of  terms  through  the 
entente  cordiale.  England  and  Russia  are  more  friendly 
than  they  have  been  since  the  days  immediately  after 
the  fall  of  the  great  Napoleon.  Germany  is  less  in  evidence 
in  Eastern  affairs  than  she  was  a few  years  ago,  for  in- 
directly one  result  of  the  Russo-Japanese  War  has  been  to 
put  an  end  to  ambitions  which  some  Germans  indulged 
in  with  regard  to  China.  Japan  has  made  a treaty  of 
friendship  with  France,  and  appears  no  longer  hostile 
to  Russia,  But  her  relations  with  the  United  States, 
though  officially  friendly,  are  not  as  cordial  as  they  were 
five  years  ago. 

The  commercial  rivalry  between  all  the  various  powers 


12 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


for  ascendancy  in  the  Chinese  markets  bids  fair  to  be 
keener  than  ever.  The  chief  competitors  will  be  Eng- 
land, Germany,  Japan,  and  the  United  States. 

In  this  competition  all  parties  concerned  see  golden 
possibilities.  They  all  make  the  same  claims  and  use  the 
same  war  cries,  such  as  that  of  the  “ open  door  ” ; but 
each  is  quick  to  accuse  the  others  of  violating  the  prin- 
ciples he  pretends  to  uphold.  America,  while  taking  a 
firm  stand  in  favor  of  the  open  door  in  China,  is  now 
doing  away  with  it  in  the  Philippines  for  her  own  benefit 
and  that  of  the  Filipinos,  and  it  will  be  difficult  for  her  to 
protest  if  Japan  follows  her  example  in  Korea.  On 
their  part  the  Japanese  have  been  loudly  accused  both  in 
Korea  and  Manchuria  of  using  their  dominant  political 
position  to  give  their  citizens  unfair  advantages  in  the 
way  of  trade. 

Then  besides  the  scramble  for  trade  we  have  the 
scramble  for  concessions.  Until  now,  England,  France, 
and  Germany  have  been  the  three  chief  capitalistic  pow- 
ers offering  money  to  China,  indeed  urging  her  to  accept 
it,  in  order  to  develop  her  resources  for  her  sake  as  well 
as  their  own.  Now  the  United  States  has  just  taken  a 
step  indicating  her  intention  in  the  future  to  assume  and 
claim  the  same  role  as  a capitalistic  friend. 

It  is  evident  that  the  question  of  foreign  trade  and  the 
internal  development  of  China  must  in  the  long  run  go 
hand  in  hand.  China  can  not  continue  to  buy  indefinitely 
the  manufactured  goods  of  the  Western  world  unless 
she  finds  some  means  of  selling  her  own  wares  in  re- 
turn. In  the  early  days  of  foreign  trade  the  Chinese  sold 
much  more  than  they  bought.  To-day  the  situation  is 
reversed.  The  growth  of  the  opium  trade  first  made  the 
imports  of  China  exceed  her  exports.  Since  then  the 
Chinese  export  of  tea  has  suffered  very  severely  from  the 
competition  of  India  and  Ceylon ; and  cotton  goods  which, 


CHINA  IN  WORLD  POLITICS 


13 


as  long  as  it  was  a question  of  hand  labor  could  be  pro- 
duced more  cheaply  in  China  than  in  the  West,  now  are 
being  imported  in  ever-increasing  quantities,  not  only 
from  Europe,  but  from  America  and  from  Japan.  This 
last  branch  of  importation  may,  however,  suffer  from 
the  establishment  of  cotton  mills  in  China,  a process 
which  has  already  begun.  Still  there  are  a very  large 
number  of  Western  articles  which  the  Chinese  are  not 
at  present  able  to  produce,  and  which  they  will  demand 
in  increasing  quantities.  But  in  the  end  if  they  are  to 
continue  to  buy  they  must  sell. 

In  speaking  of  the  international  situation  in  the  East 
thus  far  we  have  been  talking  of  China  only  in  her  pas- 
sive role,  of  the  way  that  by  her  existence,  character, 
and  conditions  she  affects  the  policy  of  other  powers. 
Let  us  now  consider  briefly  what  her  attitude  is  likely  to 
be  in  the  situation  in  which  she  finds  herself  at  the  pres- 
ent day.  Her  awakening,  which  is  probably  the  most 
important  result  of  all  of  the  Russo-Japanese  War,  pre- 
cludes the  idea  that  she  will  sit  calmly  and  allow  others 
to  do  with  her  as  they  please.  On  the  contrary  we  may 
expect  her  to  assert  herself,  to  have  a policy  of  her  own, 
and  to  have  her  friends  and  her  enemies,  or,  to  put  it  in 
the  milder  language  that  suits  present-day  politics,  the 
nations  with  which  she  is  on  more  intimate  terms,  and 
those  with  whidi  she  is  on  less,  like  anyone  else.  It  is  an 
interesting  object  of  speculation  which  countries  will  be 
her  intimates,  for  all  proclaim  themselves  ready  and  even 
eager  to  assume  the  role. 

We  shall  do  well  to  remember  in  the  first  place  that 
the  present  movement  in  China,  like  those  in  Turkey  and 
in  Persia,  is  in  large  measure  a patriotic,  nationalistic 
one.  The  Chinese  reformers  most  eager  for  Western 
education  and  liberal  institutions  want  them,  not  only  in 
order  to  make  their  country  more  civilized,  more  pros- 


14 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


perous,  happier,  but  also  in  order  to  enable  it  to  assert 
itself.  This  is  a perfectly  legitimate  ambition  and  one 
deserving  of  our  sympathy.  But  it  behooves  the  people 
of  other  nations,  including  those  of  the  United  States,  to 
understand  clearly  what  this  term  “ assert  itself  ” means, 
for  such  self-assertion  affects  the  interests  of  other  na- 
tions besides  China. 

We  need  not  imagine  that  Chinese  statesmen  and  pa- 
triots are  planning  wars  of  revenge  to  reconquer  their 
lost  territories  or  suzerainties.  Like  other  people,  they 
have  to  accept  certain  accomplished  facts.  They  have, 
however,  a right  to  hope  that  some  day  they  may  be  able 
to  get  back  the  lands  which  they  have  only  leased  to 
foreigners,  and  they  will  direct  their  policy  towards  that 
object.  It  is  also  obvious  that  they  do  not  intend  to  let 
any  more  of  their  land  go  by  the  board,  if  they  can  help 
themselves ; and  that  they  are  anxious  to  recover  from 
both  the  Japanese  and  the  Russians  complete  possession 
of  the  region  they  never  formally  surrendered,  namely, 
Manchuria.  We  may  expect,  too,  that  they  will  endeavor 
to  recover  the  branches  of  the  administration  now  con- 
trolled by  foreigners,  particularly  the  customs  service. 
Excellent  as  this  has  been,  profitable  alike  to  Chinese  and 
to  foreigners,  we  can  not  demand  that  reformed  China 
should  leave  so  important  a branch  of  its  governmental 
system  in  the  hands  of  strangers,  no  matter  how  honest 
and  efficient. 

Another  thing,  which  observers  who  have  followed 
Chinese  affairs  in  these  last  few  years  have  been  able  to 
note,  is  that  people  in  the  country  are  anxious  to  develop 
its  resources  themselves.  Here  they  run  against  the 
difficulty  of  lack  of  sufficient  capital,  technical  skill,  and 
perhaps  administrative  honesty.  Nevertheless  a good 
many  Chinese  patriots  would  prefer  to  advance  more 
slowly  rather  than  to  rely  upon  outside  help,  and  all  are 


CHINA  IN  WORLD  POLITICS 


15 


agreed  that  they  must  scrutinize  more  closely  than  in 
the  past  the  contracts  made  with  foreigners  in  order  to 
save  China  from  economic  servitude.  This  disposition 
to  jealous  scrutiny  is  legitimate  enough,  but  it  does  not 
smooth  the  path  of  the  foreign  capitalist  who  wishes  to 
make  profitable  investments  in  the  Far  East. 

Finally,  we  must  accept  it  as  inevitable  that  as  China 
progresses  in  strength  and  modern  civilization  and  in 
self-consciousness  she  will  demand  equality  of  treat- 
ment at  the  hands  of  the  rest  of  the  world.  This  has  oc- 
curred in  the  case  of  Japan,  it  is  happening  now  in  India, 
Turkey,  and  elsewhere,  and  is  in  the  nature  of  things. 
It  is  entirely  in  keeping  with  American  liberal  traditions 
that  the  United  States  should  recognize  the  justice  of 
such  a demand  and  should  show  herself  ready  to  make  the 
necessary  concessions  in  no  grudging  spirit.  But  Ameri- 
cans will  do  well  to  keep  in  their  own  minds  from  the 
start  what  the  Chinese  demands  for  equality  involve,  and 
what  attitude  the  United  States  should  adopt  in  meeting 
them — an  attitude  that  must  be  influenced,  not  only  by 
considerations  of  justice,  but  also  by  the  legitimate  in- 
terests of  its  own  citizens.  This,  then,  raises  the  ques- 
tion, What  are  the  inequalities  from  which  China  suffers 
to-day  ? 

We  may  note  first  the  commercial  and  fiscal  inequality. 
By  treaty  China  is  so  bound  that  she  is  not  at  liberty  to 
fix  her  own  tariffs.  To  the  Chinese  the  cry  of  the  “ open 
door  ” must  often  appear  a hollow  mockery.  The  door 
that  is  held  open  is  theirs,  and  it  is  held  by  people  who 
make  no  pretense  of  holding  their  own  doors  any  more 
open  than  they  want  to.  We  can  understand  how  China 
came  into  her  present  unfortunate  position.  We  can 
justify  the  Western  powers  for  insisting  in  their  earliest 
treaties  on  security  against  arbitrary  and  vexatious  im- 
positions, But  we  can  not  expect  that  modern  China 


i6 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


can  remain  permanently  contented  with  a system  which 
denies  to  her  in  her  trade  with  foreign  countries  a lib- 
erty which  they  assume  as  a matter  of  course  for  them- 
selves. As  soon  as  Japan  was  strong  enough,  her  claims 
to  freedom  from  local  trammels  had  to  be  accepted  by 
other  powers. 

A second  inequality  consists  in  the  establishment  of 
foreign  courts  in  China  similar  to  those  existing  to-day 
in  Turkey  and  Morocco.  We  may  admit  that  these 
courts  grew  up  naturally  and  indeed  were  unavoidable. 
No  Western  power  could  consent  to  handing  over  its 
subjects  to  the  tender  mercies  of  Chinese  justice.  Chi- 
nese ideas  and  Chinese  practice  on  this  subject  are  still 
too  different  from  ours  to  make  such  a thing  possible. 
In  spite  of  the  fact  that  Japan  has  succeeded  in  creating 
a modern  judicial  system  to  which  foreigners  submit 
with  but  few  murmurs,  it  does  not  look  as  if  China  would 
be  able  to  achieve  the  same  thing  for  a good  while  to 
come,  and  until  this  has  been  achieved  no  Western  na- 
tion will  entrust  the  lives  and  liberties  of  its  citizens  to 
the  native  courts.  Justifiable  as  such  an  attitude  is,  we 
can  hardly  expect  it  to  be  pleasant  to  the  Chinese.  Their 
views  and  ours  as  to  the  merits  of  Chinese  justice  are 
not  likely  to  be  the  same.  We  can  hardly  imagine  a Chi- 
nese judge  dispensing  his  own  law  to  the  Chinese  popu- 
lation of  New  York  and  Boston,  and  ignoring  local  juris- 
diction. Such  a thing  would  seem  utterly  incompatible 
with  our  ideas  of  the  sovereignty  of  the  American  people 
on  its  own  soil.  We  need  not  therefore  be  surprised  if 
the  Chinese  regard  the  exercise  of  American  or  European 
jurisdiction  on  Chinese  soil  as  an  abuse  of  superior  force, 
and  if  it  excites  increasing  discontent  as  it  did  in  Japan 
as  long  as  the  system  continued.  We  may  have  to  dis- 
regard this  discontent,  but  we  can  not  call  it  unnatural. 

A third  inequality  of  which  the  Chinese  complain  is 


CHINA  IN  WORLD  POLITICS 


^7 


one  that  touches  America  particularly,  and  that  is  the 
refusal  to  receive  Chinese  immigrants.  The  whole  in- 
ternal history  of  China  is  one  long  story  of  colonization, 
often  checked,  often  seeing  the  work  of  generations  un- 
done, but  always  beginning  again  and  pushing  steadily 
forward.  It  is  thus  that  the  Chinese  who,  three  thousand 
years  ago,  inhabited  only  a comparatively  small  territory 
about  the  Yellow  River,  have  in  course  of  time  settled  the 
much  larger  regions  which  make  up  their  present  em- 
pire, displacing  or  absorbing  the  earlier  populations. 
There  are  few  non-Chinese  elements  in  China  proper  to- 
day. In  Manchuria  the  Chinese  far  outnumber  the 
Manchus.  They  are  making  progress  even  in  the  barren 
regions  of  Mongolia,  Eastern  Turkestan,  and  Tibet.  They 
have  also  in  the  last  few  centuries  been  spreading 
outside  the  bounds  of  the  Empire  and  crossing  the 
seas. 

The  reception  with  which  Chinese  immigrants  have  met 
in  foreign  states  has  varied  many  times,  and  the  attitude 
adopted  towards  them  is  very  different  in  different  coun- 
tries of  the  world  to-day.  The  Chinese  are  now  excluded 
in  great  measure  from  most  of  the  countries  of  white 
races  where  they  have  tried  to  settle.  The  United  States, 
Canada,  Australia,  South  Africa  keep  them  out  save  in  a 
few  instances.  They  are  also  shut  out  of  certain  terri- 
tories inhabited  by  colored  populations  but  under  white 
rule.  They  are  welcomed  by  the  English  in  the  Malay 
States  and  in  Burma.  They  are  limited  and  watched 
with  some  apprehension  by  the  French  in  Indo-China; 
by  the  Dutch  in  Anam;  and  by  the  Russians  in  eastern 
Siberia.  They  are  excluded  by  the  Americans  in  the 
Philippines. 

We  need  not  enter  here  into  the  question  of  whether 
this  exclusion  is  right  or  not.  Admitting  for  the  sake  of 
argument  that  it  is  wise  and  even  necessary,  this  does 


i8 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


not  alter  the  fact  that  the  arrangement  is  one-sided  and 
can  hardly  be  agreeable  to  the  Chinese.  Their  special 
grievances  may  perhaps  in  time  te  removed  by  general 
legislation  limiting  immigration  into  the  United  States 
in  such  a manner  that  it  would  no  longer  be  necessary 
to  discriminate  specifically  against  them.  Indeed,  re- 
cent action  in  regard  to  the  immigration  of  Japanese 
tends  to  lessen  the  odium  of  American  conduct  towards 
China.  But  the  least  that  the  Chinese  will  feel  entitled 
to  demand  is  equality.  If  the  United  States  is  entitled 
to  shut  out  certain  classes  of  their  citizens  and  to  ex- 
amine others  closely,  they  may  claim  the  same  privilege 
with  regard  to  Americans.  Practically,  of  course,  a 
treaty  which  should  exclude  from  each  country  the  labor- 
ing classes  in  the  other  would  make  little  difference  in 
their  present  relations.  One  can  not  conceive  of  an 
American  laboring  man  trying  to  earn  his  living  in  China 
in  competition  with  the  natives.  On  the  other  hand,  any 
distinction  between  different  classes  of  American  citizens 
is  quite  contrary  to  all  American  democratic  traditions. 
One  can  imagine  the  clamor  that  a treaty  would  provoke 
which  provided  that  the  American  capitalist  should  be 
allowed  to  go  to  China,  but  the  working  man  should  be 
excluded.  We  can  hardly  conceive,  too,  of  the  American 
tourist  or  merchant  visiting  China  submitting  placidly  to 
minute  inquisition  into  his  character  and  to  anthropo- 
metric measurements  of  his  person  to  make  sure  that  he 
is  not  a laborer  in  disguise.  The  truth  is,  blink  the  fact 
as  we  may,  the  American  public  is  not  yet  ready  to  treat 
the  Chinese  as  on  a level  with  itself.  However  natural 
such  an  attitude  may  be,  it  is  not  conducive  to  good  feel- 
ings. 

It  is  not  the  object  of  this  paper  to  suggest  a solution 
for  the  difficulties  we  have  just  touched  upon.  The  ques- 
tions raised  are  very  grave  ones  which  will  not  be  settled 


CHINA  IN  WORLD  POLITICS 


19 


in  a day,  and  whose  ultimate  solution  we  can  not  foresee 
with  certainty.  All  that  we  can  do  at  present  is  to  face 
these  difficulties  with  a clear  comprehension  of  their  na- 
ture, and  to  deal  with  them  as  they  arise  according  to  the 
best  of  our  ability  in  such  manner  as  shall  seem,  not  only 
wise  to  ourselves,  but  fair  to  all  parties. 


II 


A SKETCH  OF  THE  RELATIONS  BETWEEN 
CHINA  AND  THE  WESTERN  WORLD 

It  is  a trite  and  self-evident  proposition  that,  in  order 
to  give  any  broad  and  comprehensive  knowledge  of  past 
or  existing  affairs  and  conditions,  the  causes  and  circum- 
stances which  led  up  to  them  must  be  clearly  understood. 

In  no  department  of  Chinese  politics  and  affairs  does 
this  remark  apply  with  such  pertinency  and  force  as  to 
that  of  her  foreign  relations.  The  attitude  of  China 
towards  foreign  governments  has  seemed  so  peculiar  and 
abnormal,  her  disposition  towards  all  forms  of  intercourse 
so  recalcitrant  and  unwilling,  as  to  provoke  all  varieties 
of  criticism  and  censure.  At  times  it  has  appeared  nec- 
essary to  remind  Western  people  that  the  Chinaman  is 
human,  moved  by  the  same  feelings  and  purposes  which 
actuate  and  guide  other  men,  that  there  may  be  peculiar 
reasons  for  his  peculiar  attitude  and  action,  and  that  he 
who  desires  to  be  just  and  fair  might  well  seek  to  know 
more,  and  to  judge  less.  To  know  more,  because  there 
are  few  more  interesting  chapters  in  history  than  that  of 
Chinese  diplomacy.  To  judge  less,  because  China  de- 
serves a more  kindly  judgment  than  that  which  is  usually 
recorded  against  her. 

Two  natural  factors — to  call  them  such — ^have  had 
much  to  do  with  Chinese  seclusion  from  the  rest  of  the 
world.  The  first  of  these  has  been  the  extreme  difficul- 
ties of  her  language.  The  second  is  her  geographical  iso- 
lation. It  is  only  necessary  to  consult  a map  to  under- 
stand this  latter  condition  fully.  Her  eastern  frontier  is 


21 


22 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


the  Pacific  Ocean,  no  longer  a barrier  but  a facility  to  in- 
tercourse. Her  northern  neighbors  were,  and  still  re- 
main, wild  wandering  tribes  who  could  give  China  noth- 
ing, and  who  long  since  became  Chinese  dependents.  The 
whole  stretch  of  her  western  boundary  was,  and  still  is, 
occupied  to  a large  extent  with  sandy  deserts  scarcely 
less  painful  and  perilous  to  traverse  than  the  Sahara  of 
northern  Africa.  Towering  above  her  southwestern  and 
a portion  of  her  southern  frontier  arose  the  impassable 
Himalaya  Mountains,  upon  the  slopes  of  which  rests  the 
insignificant  Principality  of  Tibet,  long  since  drawn 
within  the  essential  control  of  the  Chinese  Emperor.  To 
the  south  and  southeast  are  the  petty  kingdoms  of  Bur- 
mah,  Siam,  and  Cochin  China,  now  substantially  absorbed 
by  Great  Britain  and  France.  Thus  China  has  been, 
from  the  beginning  of  time,  geographically  isolated,  by 
barren  deserts,  mountain  ranges  and  broad  seas,  from 
all  those  parts  of  the  earth  which  were  peopled  by  races 
in  any  measure  her  peers,  and  among  whom  the  progress 
and  development  of  the  earth  have  been  brought  about. 
Only  with  the  evolution  of  the  modern  means  of  rapid, 
easy,  and  cheap  intercommunication  has  it  become  pos- 
sible for  the  people  and  government  of  China  to  come 
into  any  close  and  intimate  touch  with  the  Western 
world.  And  while  the  peoples,  races,  and  tribes  which 
surrounded  the  Chinese  Empire  gained  much  from  her 
civilization,  and,  as  will  be  shown,  borrowed  nearly  all 
of  her  knowledge,  they  could  give  nothing  to  her.  China 
had  no  neighbors  from  whom  she  could  learn  anything. 

There  is,  however,  abundant  evidence  that  the  Chinese 
possessed  a limited  knowledge  of  southwestern  Asia 
and  the  adjacent  portions  of  Europe  before  the  Christian 
era,  and,  probably,  before  the  birth  of  Confucius.  And, 
of  course,  there  is  equal  evidence  that  the  peoples  of 
those  regions  had  some  knowledge  of  the  Chinese.  There 


CHINA  AND  THE  WESTERN  WORLD  23 


is  strong  reason  for  the  belief  that  the  Prophet  Isaiah 
referred  to  China  when  he  mentioned  “ Tlie  land  of 
Sinim.”  The  prophetic  words  were  spoken  about  712 
B.c.  or  more  than  a century  and  a half  before  the  Chinese 
sage  was  born.  It  is  certainly  known  from  Persian  writ- 
ings and  legends  that  a demand  for  the  splendid  silks 
even  then  woven  in  China  had  sprung  up  in  the  Persian 
Empire  previous  to  the  birth  of  Christ.  At  a period  at 
least  two  centuries  before  Christ,  the  Phoenicians,  Car- 
thaginians, and  Syrians  were  already  masters  of  an  ex- 
tensive trade,  and  it  is  abundantly  evident  that  an  active 
commerce  existed  some  centuries  before  the  Christian 
era.  It  is  quite  impossible  to  identify  the  names  of  cities 
mentioned  in  these  ancient  chronicles  with  any  centers 
of  commerce  now  known  in  China.  Knowledge  of  the 
country  and  the  langpiage  was  exceedingly  slight.  Names 
were  misunderstood  and  confused.  And  the  modern 
student  who  undertakes  to  fix  the  localities  mentioned  by 
these  foreign  merchants  will  meet  with  somewhat  the 
same  difficulties  which,  so  says  Williams,  a Chinese  geog- 
rapher, writing  at  Fuchau  as  recently  as  1847,  found 
confronting  him  in  his  efforts  to  identify  the  Colossus  of 
Rhodes  with  Rhode  Island. 

From  some  cause  which  may  neither  be  understood 
nor  explained,  commercial  and  friendly  missions  between 
the  Emperor  of  China  and  the  heads  of  various  Asiatic 
and  European  states  first  were  dispatched  at  about  the 
beginning  of  the  Christian  era.  From  that  period  they 
greatly  increased  in  frequency  and  importance.  And 
they  w'ere  not  altogether  of  a commercial  nature.  Thus, 
in  A.D.  61,  the  Chinese  Emperor,  moved  alike  by  a dream, 
and  by  a statement  made  five  hundred  years  earlier  by 
Confucius,  that  a sage  having  the  true  wisdom  would  be 
born  in  the  West,  sent  an  envoy  to  the  West  “ for  teach- 
ers and  books  of  the  true  religion.”  So  ran  the  Imperial 


24 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


instructions.  But  the  envoy,  dreading  the  hardships  and 
perils  of  the  deserts,  deflected  his  course  to  the  south, 
entered  India,  and  returned  with  Buddhist  writings  and 
priests.  In  a.d.  126  a Chinese  general  reached  the  valley 
of  the  Caspian  Sea,  and  carried  the  grape  vine  back 
to  China.  In  a.d.  166  the  Roman  Emperor,  Marcus  An- 
toninus, sent  an  embassy  by  sea  to  China,  to  procure  the 
rich  silks  which  the  people  of  that  empire  manufactured. 
The  culture  of  silk  was  introduced  into  Europe  from 
China,  during  the  reign  of  the  Roman  Emperor  Justin- 
ian. It  is  certain  that  at  the  time  of  this  ruler  a large 
exchange  of  commodities  was  being  carried  on  between 
the  two  empires.  The  Romans  obtained  from  China 
silk,  iron,  and  furs.  And  the  Chinese  received  in  ex- 
change, glassware,  asbestos,  woven  fabrics,  drugs,  dyes, 
metals,  and  gems.  It  is  at  this  period  that  the  first  re- 
corded knowledge  of  China  is  to  be  found  among  Euro- 
pean records.  It  was  written  by  Ptolemy,  the  Roman 
geographer.  And  it  is  a curious,  though  not  strange, 
fact  that,  at  about  the  same  period,  the  Chinese  historical 
records  contain  the  first  mention  of  the  Romans.  It  is 
extremely  interesting  to  read  what  each  says  of  the 
other.  The  Romans  said  of  China ; “ The  region  of  the 
Seres  (Chinese)  is  a vast  and  populous  country,  touch- 
ing on  the  east  the  ocean  and  the  limits  of  the  habitable 
globe,  and  extending  west  nearly  to  Imaus  and  the  con- 
fines of  Bactria.  The  people  are  civilized  men,  of  mild, 
just,  and  frugal  temper,  eschewing  collisions  with  their 
neighbors,  and  even  shy  of  close  intercourse,  but  not 
averse  to  dispose  of  their  own  products,  of  which  raw 
silk  is  the  staple,  but  which  include  also  silk  stuffs,  furs, 
and  iron  of  remarkable  quality.”  And  of  the  Romans 
the  Chinese  said : “ Everything  precious  and  admirable 
in  all  other  countries  comes  from  this  land.  Gold  and 
silver  money  is  coined  there ; ten  of  silver  are  worth  one 


CHINA  AND  THE  WESTERN  WORLD  25 


of  gold.  Their  merchants  trade  by  sea  witli  Persia  and 
India,  and  gain  ten  for  one  in  their  traffic.  Tliey  arc 
simple  and  upright  and  never  have  two  prices  for  their 
goods ; grain  is  sold  among  them  very  cheap,  and  large 
sums  are  embarked  in  trade.  Whenever  ambassadors 
come  to  the  frontiers,  they  are  provided  with  carriages 
to  travel  to  the  capital,  and  after  their  arrival  a certain 
number  of  pieces  of  gold  are  furnished  them  for  their 
expenses.” 

The  tea  plant,  not  indigenous  to  China,  was  introduced 
from  India  in  a.d.  315.  Ivory,  apes,  peacocks,  silks,  medi- 
cines, and  gums  were  transported,  both  by  the  dangerous 
sea  route,  and  the  more  dangerous  land  route,  in  these 
early  Christian  centuries.  A little  later  a trade  developed 
with  Arabia,  Greece,  and  Constantinople.  The  extent 
to  which  the  foreign  sea  commerce  in  China  grew  in  those 
ancient  times,  may  be  inferred  from  a statement  made 
by  an  Arab  writer  that,  at  the  sacking  of  Kan  fu,  a sea- 
port of  southern  China  to  which  all  Arabian  traffic  was 
directed,  no  less  than  one  hundred  and  twenty  thousand 
Mohammedans,  Jews,  Christians,  and  Parsees,  all  mer- 
chants engaged  in  the  foreign  trade,  lost  their  lives.  The 
destruction  of  this  city  took  place  about  a.d.  877.  !Mis- 
sionaries  of  the  Nestorian  form  of  faith  had  reached 
China  long  ere  this,  probably  as  early  as  300  a.d.  In  505 
A.D.  they  had  a complete  ecclesiastical  organization  in 
the  Empire,  in  551  a.d.  returning  missionaries  carried 
back  the  eggs  of  the  silk  worm  to  Constantinople,  and 
by  A.D.  781,  the  faith  had  spread  throughout  China,  was 
patronized  by  the  Emperor,  and  many  high  officials  of 
the  Empire  were  among  its  numbers.  The  Nestorian 
tablet,  still  in  existence  at  Hsi  An  Fu,  furnishes  ample 
proof  of  this. 

The  trade  missions  from  Rome,  Constantinople,  and 
Arabia  continued  down  to  about  a.d.  1 100.  Envoys  from 


26 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


Ceylon  were  also  frequent.  In  1266  the  King  of  Ceylon, 
then  an  independent  ruler,  had  Chinese  soldiers  in  his 
service.  In  1406,  the  Emperor  of  China  sent  a fleet  to 
Ceylon,  by  which  the  King,  his  family,  and  ministers 
were  captured  and  carried  as  prisoners  to  Peking,  where 
they  remained  in  durance  for  five  years.  The  little  king- 
dom thereafter  paid  tribute  to  China  until  1459.  And — 
to  turn  again  to  Persia,  Chinese  engineers  were  employed 
upon  public  works  in  that  empire  in  a.d.  1275,  and  be- 
fore that  date,  Chinese  physicians  and  astrologers  healed 
the  sick  and  foretold  the  future  in  Tabriz,  then  the  Per- 
sian capital.  The  Mongol  incursions  into  China,  which 
had  commenced  shortly  before  the  date  last  mentioned, 
were  followed,  as  is  well  known,  by  the  seizure  of  the 
Chinese  throne.  Those  two  great  Mongol  emperors  and 
military  leaders,  Zenghis  and  Kublai  Khan,  overran  and 
subdued  nearly  the  whole  of  Asia ; they  led  their  armies 
into  Europe,  terrorized  that  continent,  and  were  at  last 
only  brought  to  a halt  at  the  very  gates  of  Vienna.  These 
great  military  events  put  an  end,  for  a considerable  per- 
iod of  time  at  least,  to  the  quieter  forms  of  commercial 
intercourse  between  China  and  the  West,  which  had  been 
carried  on  for  so  long,  and  had  reached  such  large  pro- 
portions. For  the  purposes  of  this  sketch,  the  antique 
period  of  Chinese  foreign  relations,  as  it  may  be  called, 
ends  with  the  Mongol  rule,  or  about  a.d.  1500. 

If  this  lengthy  detail,  of  the  principal  features  of  the 
earlier  intercourse  between  China  and  the  outside  world, 
has  proved  somewhat  tedious,  it  also  has  been  necessary 
in  order  to  develop  clearly  certain  facts,  facts  full  of  sig- 
nificance, but  not  generally  understood.  It  has  thus  been 
made  evident  that  in  this  ancient  intercommunication, 
the  Chinese  played  a full  part.  They  were  not  merely 
passive  recipients  of  trade  caravans  from  remote  coun- 
tries. Chinese  merchants  pushed  their  way  over  all  the 


CHINA  AND  THE  WESTERN  WORLD  27 


known  regions  of  Asia.  Europe,  and  Africa,  seeking  new 
avenues  and  new  centers  of  traffic.  Nor  was  the  Imperial 
Government  either  indifferent  or  hostile  to  this  enter- 
prise. There  are  abundant  evidences  to  show  that,  upon 
the  contrary,  it  was  encouraged  and  fostered  by  the 
Throne.  The  details  already  given  may  be  considered 
sufficient  proof  of  this  fact.  But  one  circumstance,  pur- 
posely kept  out  of  its  chronological  order  in  this  narra- 
tive, will  establish  it  more  positively.  In  a.d.  98,  an  en- 
voy was  sent  from  China  westward  with  directions  to 
learn  more  about  the  Roman  people,  and  to  establish  di- 
rect trade  between  that  empire  and  China.  He  reached 
a seaport  where  he  proposed  to  go  westward  by  sea. 
He  was  hindered  and  dissuaded  from  doing  this  by  the 
people  of  the  port,  the  Parthians,  who,  as  intermediaries, 
had  controlled  the  traffic  between  Rome  and  China,  and 
so  failed  to  accomplish  the  object  of  his  mission.  It  was 
in  order  to  avoid  the  Parthian  monopoly  that  later — a.d. 
166 — the  Roman  emperor  opened  the  sea  route  of  traffic. 

That  the  Chinese,  government  and  people,  should  have 
taken  an  active  part  in  the  development  and  maintenance 
of  commercial  intercourse  with  foreign  countries,  in 
those  early  days,  cannot  seem  at  all  strange  to  any  per- 
son who  is  even  moderately  familiar  with  the  char- 
acteristics of  the  race.  They  are  a nation  of  merchants. 
The  commercial  instinct  is,  and  always  has  been,  strongly 
developed  in  them.  To  this  day  the  merchants  of  China 
rank  second  to  none  in  the  world  in  ability,  shrewdness, 
and  integrity.  They  know  how  to  drive  a sharp  bargain, 
how  to  make  the  most  of  small  profits,  and  how  to  keep 
their  pledges  and  commercial  honor.  And  these  facts, 
coupled  with  others  which  need  not  be  given  here,  must 
prove  that,  in  those  ancient  days,  the  Chinese  had  no  ob- 
jections to  foreign  intercourse,  but,  on  the  contrary,  wel- 
comed and  fostered  it.  They  were  easily  receptive  of  all 


28 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


forms  of  knowledge,  sent  embassies  abroad  in  search  of 
it,  welcomed  new  theories  and  practices  with  their 
teachers  and  apostles,  and  China  was  freely  and  fully 
open  to  theorist,  priest,  traveler,  merchant,  and  any  other 
respectable  wanderer.  Foreigners  were  welcomed  by 
the  Government  and  then,  later,  rose  to  high  positions 
in  the  service  of  the  state.  Foreign  forms  of  religious 
belief  could  be  freely  taught.  The  policy  of  the  Throne 
was  that  of  entire  toleration,  the  Emperor  made  gifts  to 
churches  and  temples  alike,  and  the  members  of  the  official 
class  were  free  to  profess  what  form  of  faith  they  might 
choose. 

Such  was  the  consistent  and  unvarying  policy  of  the 
Chinese  Government,  in  all  matters  touching  foreigners, 
from  the  earliest  times  down  to  a comparatively  recent 
period,  when  it  was  all  changed,  and  a rigid  policy  of 
exclusion  and  seclusion  adopted  and  adhered  to.  Since 
the  Chinese  are  human  beings,  moved  and  governed  by 
the  same  impulses  and  purposes  which  control  other  races 
of  men ; since  it  is  wise  and  safe  to  measure  their  actions 
as  the  actions  of  other  men  are  measured,  is  it  possible 
to  resist  the  conclusion  that  conditions  must  have  changed 
and  that  reasons  of  the  most  serious,  permanent  and  for- 
midable character  must  have  arisen  to  justify  and  neces- 
sitate such  a sweeping  change  in  the  ancient  policy  of 
the  Empire?  And  is  it  too  much  to  expect  that  fair- 
minded,  intelligent  persons  will  take  steps  to  inforni 
themselves  of  the  actual  causes  of  this  change  before 
they  join  in  the  common  outcry  against  China  for  having 
made  and  persisted  in  it? 

While  the  international  trade,  destroyed  during  the 
Mongol  incursions,  and  short-lived  dynasty,  appears  to 
have  never  been  renewed,  a considerable  amount  of  com- 
munication and  intercourse  was  kept  up  by  travelers.  Spe- 
cial embassies  were  also  sent  from  various  parts  of 


CHINA  AND  THE  WESTERN  WORLD  29 


Europe  to  the  Chinese  Emperor.  Thus  the  Pope,  in  1241, 
sent  two  monks  to  the  Mongol  ruler  to  urge  him  to  the 
exercise  of  greater  humanity  to  his  European  captives. 
They  carried  no  presents  to  the  sovereign,  as  was  then 
the  invariable  custom,  and  in  consequence  were  roughly 
treated,  barely  escaping  with  their  lives.  Louis  XI  of 
France,  having  heard  that  a Chinese  general,  then  hold- 
ing command  upon  the  western  frontier  of  the  Empire, 
w’as  a Christian,  sent  a mission  to  him  in  1253.  This  mis- 
sion consisted  of  a friar  and  three  companions.  They 
were  sent  on  to  the  Chinese  capital,  wdiere  they  found  a 
Nestorian  high  in  favor  and  the  only  medium  of  approach 
to  the  Emperor.  They  at  once  became  involved  in  dan- 
gerous religious  disputes,  and  were  finally  sent  back 
home,  which  they  reached  after  an  absence  of  two  years. 
It  can  hardly  be  necessary  to  continue  this  list  of  monks, 
friars,  and  travelers  of  every  kind  and  degree  who  made 
their  way  at  different  periods,  during  several  centuries, 
from  different  points  in  Europe,  by  different  routes,  and 
with  different  purposes,  to  the  court  of  the  Chinese  em- 
peror. Though  they  accomplished  little  else,  they  kept 
alive  in  Western  lands  some  knowledge  of  a great  and 
civilized  nation  “ lying  in  the  extreme  east  upon  the 
shores  of  the  Pacific.” 

Two  of  these  travelers,  however,  deserve  notice  for  the 
greater  knowledge  of  the  China  of  those  days  which  they 
secured  and  for  the  valuable  information  which  they 
gave  to  the  European  world  upon  their  return.  The 
more  important  of  these  was  Marco  Polo,  a Venetian. 
He  left  Constantinople  for  the  East  in  1260.  He  spent 
twenty-one  years  in  China,  held  a responsible  office  un- 
der the  Emperor,  with  whom  he  was  high  in  favor,  visited 
his  native  land  under  a promise  to  return  to  China,  which 
promise  he  fulfilled,  bearing  with  him  letters  from  Pope 
Gregory  X to  the  Chinese  sovereign.  His  narrative,  as 


30 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


translated  and  edited  by  Colonel  Yule,  is  exceedingly  in- 
teresting and  valuable.  The  other  of  the  two  travelers 
was  a Moor,  named  Ibn  Batuta,  who  commenced  his 
wanderings  in  1325.  They  were  wanderings,  rather  than 
travels.  He  remained  three  years  in  Mecca,  and  eight 
years  in  Delhi,  India,  where  he  was  high  in  favor 
with  the  Sultan.  In  1342  he  was  sent  as  an  envoy  by 
this  ruler  to  China.  While  he  failed  to  reach  that  desti- 
nation, in  his  capacity  as  ambassador,  he  arrived  there 
in  what  was  evidently  his  more  natural  character,  of 
wanderer.  Among  his  observations  in  China  is  to  be 
found  the  statement  that  the  use  of  paper  money,  by 
orders  of  the  monarch,  had  entirely  driven  all  metallic 
currency  out  of  circulation. 

The  idea  of  diplomatic  establishments  permanently  set- 
tled at  the  capitals  of  all  independent  nations,  for  the  con- 
sideration and  adjustment  of  such  international  ques- 
tions as  may  arise  from  time  to  time,  is,  comparatively 
and  essentially,  modern.  The  initial  factor  in  all  such 
intercourse  is  trade.  And  under  the  older  and  Oriental 
theory,  it  was  beneath  the  dignity  of  the  government  to 
concern  itself  with  such  matters  as  the  interchange  of 
vulgar  commodities.  All  questions  referring  to  com- 
merce belonged  to  the  merchants.  Let  them  adjust  them 
among  themselves.  If,  indeed,  attempts  were  made  to 
evade  taxation,  or  to  smuggle  goods  contraband  of  law, 
then  the  authorities  must  intervene.  But  that,  again,  was 
the  business  of  the  local  officials.  They  knew  the  law 
and  their  duty  under  it.  Why  trouble  the  sovereign  ? 
This  was  the  ancient  and  Oriental  idea.  Hence,  when  it 
came  about,  in  much  later  times  than  those  which  have 
been  under  review,  that  Western  powers  sent  ambassa- 
dors to  China,  who  had  much  to  say  of  the  protection 
and  development  of  commerce,  and  insisted  upon  the 
right  to  establish  permanent  diplomatic  missions  at 


CHINA  AND  THE  WESTERN  WORLD  31 


Peking,  the  Chinese  were  unprepared  for  any  such  re- 
quest, and  not  merely  unable  to  comprehend  and  sympa- 
thize with  the  motive  of  the  proposition,  but  inclined  to 
regard  with  scorn  any  government  which  would  “ dabble 
in  trade.”  From  the  Chinese  point  of  view,  the  utmost 
limit  of  any  reasonable  request  would  be,  that  the  vice- 
roys and  governors  of  provinces  within  which  were  lo- 
cated centers  of  foreign  trade,  be  instructed  to  confer 
with  foreign  officials  as  occasion  might  arise,  and  to  ad- 
just any  points  of  difficulty  or  disagreement.  And  this 
was  one  of  the  reasons,  though  of  minor  importance, 
when  compared  with  others  yet  to  be  mentioned,  why  the 
government  of  China  resisted  so  stubbornly  the  con- 
tinued presence  of  foreign  ministers  at  Peking,  and  why 
the  United  States  legation,  in  common  with  others, 
tossed  about  for  so  many  years  in  our  ships  of  war  upon 
the  restless  bosom  of  the  China  Sea. 

Almost  from  the  beginnings  of  her  history,  China  has 
been  the  central  figure  in  a world,  largely  of  her  own 
creation,  in  which  she  was  the  final  dominant  moral  force. 
She  has  been  the  planet,  the  powerful  civilized  and  cul- 
tivated empire,  surrounded  by  a circle  of  admiring  satel- 
lite kingdoms.  Korea,  upon  the  northeast,  the  Tartar 
families  on  the  north,  Kashgar  and  Samarkand  upon  the 
west,  Tibet,  in  its  Himalayan  clouds  and  snows,  at  the 
southwest,  Burma  and  Siam  at  the  south,  Anam  and 
Cochin  China,  trailing  off  from  her  southeastern  frontier, 
and  those  tiny  and  inoffensive  specks  which  lie,  like  a 
fringe,  off  to  the  east,  marking  the  eastern  limits  of  the 
China  Sea,  and  known  as  the  Liukiu  Islands,  these 
formed  a system,  an  Oriental  world,  of  which  the  Chi- 
nese Empire  was  the  center.  They  flattered  her  by  that 
most  delicate  and  subtle  form  of  flattery,  imitation.  They 
copied  her  form  of  civilization,  modeled  their  govern- 
mental systems  after  hers,  borrowed  her  religions, 


32 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


adopted,  in  several  instances,  her  written  language, 
gained  their  knowledge  of  the  arts  and  literature  from 
her,  and  all  of  them  deferred  and  appealed  to  her,  as 
final  authority  and  sovereign  mistress  in  an  intellectual 
and  moral,  but  not  governmental,  sense  of  the  term.  She 
was  arbiter  of  their  disputes,  whether  domestic  or  inter- 
national, She  aided  each,  at  times,  to  quell  insurrection 
by  the  force  of  her  arms.  She  held  herself,  and  was  held, 
as  the  patron  and  Superior  of  each  and  all. 

The  relationships  between  China  and  the  other  nations 
and  tribes  named  were  always,  to  an  Oriental  mind, 
definite  and  well  understood.  Embassies  reached  Peking 
from  each  of  the  smaller  states  at  each  New  Year,  bring- 
ing presents  and  the  felicitations  of  the  season  to  the  em- 
peror, They  were  imperially  entertained  by  him,  and  on 
their  return  home  were  the  bearers  of  return  gifts  to 
their  rulers,  which  gifts  were  always  as  much  more  valu- 
able than  those  which  they  brought,  as  the  emperor  was 
greater  in  power  and  wealth  than  their  lords.  It  is  only 
within  a few  years  that  the  King  of  Siam  has  ceased 
sending  a biennial  gift  of  white  elephants  to  the  Court  at 
Peking,  And  the  winter  of  1894-95  marked  the  first 
Chinese  New  Year  in  many  centuries  in  which  the  King 
of  Korea  failed  to  dispatch  his  annual  embassy,  of  com- 
pliment and  congratulation,  to  the  Chinese  sovereign. 
Large  bodies  of  merchants  accompanied  these  envoys,  the 
merchandise  which  they  sold  and  bought  being,  as  a mat- 
ter of  privilege,  exempt  from  all  taxes  and  imports  of 
every  kind.  And  it  is  important  to  keep  in  mind  that, 
whatever  may  have  been  the  interruptions  and  however 
vexatious  the  course  of  commerce  between  China  and 
Western  Asia,  Europe  and  America,  this  international 
traffic,  between  the  Empire  and  neighboring  Asiatic 
countries,  has  not  been  disturbed  or  interfered  with  for 
many  centuries  except  in  the  unusual  circumstance  of 


CHINA  AND  THE  WESTERN  WORLD  33 


war.  The  annual  procession  of  clumsy  craft,  jojjging 
along  their  journey  from  Bangkok,  Siam,  to  the  ports  of 
China,  going  as  far  north  as  Tientsin,  and  making  one 
round  voyage  each  year,  may  be  seen  to-day.  as  it  might 
have  been  before  the  discovery  of  .\merica  by  Columbus. 

As  was,  perhaps,  to  have  been  expected,  when  the  chief 
Western  powers,  having  succeeded  mainly  by  force  of 
arms,  in  establishing  permanent  diplomatic  relations  with 
the  Chinese  Empire,  turned  their  attention  to  these  nearby 
states,  there  arose  a universal  misunderstanding  in  re- 
gard to  the  loose-jointed  and  essentially  Oriental  con- 
nection which  has  just  been  described.  Having  no  ac- 
curate idea  of  its  nature,  and  ignorant,  or  forgetful,  of 
the  fact  that  all  forms  of  feudalism  had  been  abolished 
in  China  two  centuries  before  the  birth  of  Christ,  they 
decided  it  to  be  the  relationship  of  suzerain  and  vassal, 
of  which,  in  fact,  it  lacked  every  essential  quality.  One 
incident  in  this  connection  may  be  taken  as  a fair  sample 
of  the  misunderstanding,  and  what  came  of  it.  Korea — 
the  Hermit  Kingdom,  as  it  has  been  called — was  close 
shut  against  all  foreigners  except  neighboring  Asiatics. 
The  United  States  was  anxious  to  put  an  end  to  the  hor- 
rible cruelties  practiced  upon  American  seamen  when 
ship-wrecked  and  cast  ashore  in  Korea,  and,  to  that  end, 
sought  to  make  a treaty  wdth  the  king.  Efforts  directly 
made  having  failed,  the  fancied  authority  of  China  over 
Korea  w-as  appealed  to.  The  Chinese  Government  dis- 
claimed all  right  to  interfere.  Then  a United  States 
fleet  w'as  sent  to  the  little  kingdom,  accompanied  by  an 
ambassador  duly  empow’ered  to  conclude  an  agreement. 
When  this  fleet  arrived  off  the  coast,  no  communication 
could  be  established,  and  w’hen  one  of  the  vessels  of  war 
entered  the  mouth  of  a river,  she  w^as  promptly  fired  on 
from  the  forts.  A force  w-as  landed,  the  fort  was  at- 
tacked and  taken,  and  a number  of  men  were  killed  i:pon 


34 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


both  sides.  The  project  of  direct  negotiation  with  the 
King  of  Korea  was  then  abandoned.  A few  months 
later,  a formal  demand  was  made  upon  the  Chinese  Gov- 
ernment, that  it  force  Korea  to  conclude  a treaty  with  the 
United  States,  or  itself  assume  responsibility  for  the 
proper  treatment  of  American  seamen.  But  China  de- 
clined to  do  either,  in  turn  formally  asserting  that  the 
Emperor  possessed  “No  right  or  authority  to  interfere 
in  either  the  internal  affairs  or  foreign  relations  of  the 
Korean  Kingdom.”  This  was  strictly  true,  though  not 
so  understood  at  the  time.  The  Empire  might  advise, 
but  could  not  command  the  Korean  ruler.  Ten  years 
after  these  events  occurred,  China  advised  her  neighbor 
to  enter  into  diplomatic  relations  with  the  United  States, 
and  the  existing  treaty  was  the  result. 

There  is  no  word  in  any  European  tongue  which  will 
exactly  describe  the  position  which  China  claimed  to 
hold  vis  a vis  the  smaller  states  named,  because  the  idea 
is  wholly  foreign  to  our  conceptions  of  international  re- 
lationships. Vague,  indefinite,  and  difficult  of  classifica- 
tion as  it  may  appear  to  the  Occidental,  to  the  Oriental 
it  is  simple  and  clear,  because  it  is  exactly  in  line  with 
his  idea  and  theory  of  government.  He  describes  it  as 
the  relation,  or  position,  of  an  elder  brother  towards  a 
younger.  When  the  Chinese  Government  has  had  occa- 
sion to  describe  her  attitude  and  relationship  towards 
any  of  the  neighboring  states,  precisely  the  same  word 
and  phrase  is  used  which  is  employed  to  indicate  the  rela- 
tive positions  of  two  brothers,  the  elder  and  the  younger. 
Recalling  the  fact  that  the  entire  theory  and  basis  of  gov- 
ernment in  China  is  to  be  found  in  the  patriarchal,  or 
parental,  system,  in  which  the  elder  brother  has  a certain 
authority  over,  and  responsibility  for,  the  younger,  it 
ceases  to  be  difficult  to  understand  the  tie  which  con- 
nected China  with  her  surrounding  and  less  powerful 


CHINA  AND  THE  WESTERN  WORLD  35 


neighbors.  It  carried  a sort  of  moral  superiority  and 
right  of  control,  which  could  be  exercised,  or  evaded,  at 
will.  And  perhaps,  in  this  fact  is  to  be  found  that  fea- 
ture of  the  systems  which  is  most  pleasing  to  the  Oriental 
mind.  Citizens  of  the  United  States,  at  least,  should 
readily  understand  the  relationship,  and  as  readily  dis- 
cover the  value  of  it,  since  in  application,  where  an  out- 
side government  is  concerned,  it  bears  a striking  resem- 
blance to  a theory  strongly  maintained  in  this  country. 
In  certain  phases  of  its  practical  use,  what  is  it  but  a 
sort  of  Asiatic  prototype  of  the  Monroe  Doctrine? 

Prior  to  the  year  1500  a.d.  the  entire  foreign  relations 
of  China,  whether  of  an  official  or  commercial  character, 
had  been  with  the  nations  and  peoples  of  Asia  and  south- 
eastern Europe.  And  it  cannot  be  too  clearly  pointed 
out  and  understood  that,  up  to  that  time,  excepting  only 
the  period  of  the  Mongol  invasion,  there  were  no  signs 
of  any  policy  of  exclusion  and  non-intercourse.  The 
Empire  was  open  and  free  to  all  foreigners  of  every  call- 
ing and  profession,  subject  only  to  those  restrictions  and 
limitations  which  were  usual  in  all  countries  in  those 
days.  The  people  of  modern  Europe  had  not  made  their 
appearance  upon  the  Chinese  borders,  and  were  quite  un- 
known to  the  natives  of  that  Empire.  The  latter  were, 
however,  soon  to  learn  of  them.  A period  of  exploration, 
exploitation,  plunder,  and  piracy,  had  set  in  among  the 
nations  which  bordered  upon  the  Atlantic,  and  deeds  were 
done — and  are  admired  to-day — which  if  done  to-day 
would  cause  the  perpetrators  of  them  to  be  swung  from 
the  yardarms  of  their  ships.  China  was  to  receive  her 
first  introduction  to  the  manners,  methods,  civilization, 
morals,  and  Christianity  of  western  Europe  from  such 
men.  The  French  first  appeared  in  China,  in  1506;  the 
Portuguese  followed  them  in  1516;  the  Hollanders  at 
about  the  same  time;  the  Spaniards  appeared  in  1575; 


36 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


the  British  in  1635 ; and  the  Russians  in  1658.  With  the 
possible  exceptions  of  the  British  and  the  Russians,  the 
conduct  of  all  these  pioneers  of,  so-called,  peaceful  com- 
merce, was  such  as  befitted  pirates  rather  than  amicably 
disposed  and  civilized  men,  and  they  well  deserved  not 
merely  exclusion  from  the  Empire,  but  extermination  by 
the  hands  of  the  Chinese  authorities.  They  harried  the 
southern  coasts  of  China,  plundered  and  destroyed  towns 
and  cities,  killed  inoffensive  men,  women  and  children  by 
scores  and  hundreds,  and  then  sailed  peacefully  away.  Or 
they  landed,  forced  the  native  Chinese  to  construct  forti- 
fications for  them,  by  the  most  outrageous  brutalities, 
seized  and  carried  away  women,  robbed  the  natives  of 
whatever  valuables  they  possessed,  and  violated  every 
principle  of  humanity  and  decency. 

Take  one  or  two  instances  as  fair  examples  of  all.  The 
Portuguese  merchants  came  to  Canton  in  1517,  and  gave 
great  satisfaction  to  the  authorities  by  their  fair  dealings. 
They  were  cordially  welcomed  and  well  treated.  The 
next  year  they  came  again  and  behaved  so  atrociously 
that,  after  several  years’  effort  and  endurance,  on  the 
part  of  the  Chinese,  they  were  driven  away  in  1521. 
Later  they  came  again  and  established  themselves  at 
Ningpo,  a seaport  in  central  China.  Their  conduct 
here  was  such  as  to  draw  upon  them  the  vengeance  of 
an  outraged  people,  who  at  last  rose  against  them,  “ de- 
stroyed 12,000  foreigners,  of  whom  800  only  were  Portu- 
guese, and  burned  thirty-five  ships  and  two  junks.”  Four 
years  later  they  were  driven  from  another  settlement, 
and  for  the  same  reasons.  In  1560  they  obtained  tem- 
porary footing  upon  the  peninsula  of  Macao,  by  trick 
and  fraud,  which,  by  trick  and  fraud,  they  have  contin- 
ued to  hold  down  to  the  present  time.  In  recent  years, 
it  was  the  center  and  depot  of  the  infamous  coolie  trade 
under  the  permit  and  patronage  of  the  Government  of 


CHINA  AND  THE  WESTERN  WORLD  37 


Portugal,  and  since  that  was  cruslied  out  by  the  Chinese 
Government  in  1872,  Macao  has  been  the  headquarters 
of  gambling,  which  is  forbidden  in  China,  but  which  has 
been  encouraged  for  purposes  of  revenue,  by  the  so- 
called  “ Most  Christian  King  ” of  Portugal. 

The  Dutch  introduced  themselves  to  the  peaceable  and 
peace-loving  Chinese  by  means  of  a fleet  of  seventeen 
men-of-war,  with  which  they  bombarded  a city  upon  the 
coast.  Being  repulsed,  they  took  possession  of  a group 
of  outlying  islands  which  they  proceeded  to  fortify,  forc- 
ing the  natives,  with  brutal  measures,  to  do  the  work. 
At  different  times  they  made  descents  at  several  points 
along  the  coast,  committing  acts  of  piracy,  and  working 
havoc  wherever  they  appeared.  Being  repeatedly  driven 
off,  they  finally  abandoned  their  efforts  to  secure  a “ foot- 
hold for  commerce  ” in  China.  The  French,  who  came 
in  1506,  introduced  themselves,  also  by  means  of  armed 
vessels,  and  by  acts  of  plunder  and  murder. 

This  sort  of  “ kindly  intercourse  in  the  interests  of 
trade,”  here  necessarily  described,  and  dismissed,  within 
the  compass  of  a few  sentences,  continued  at  varying  in- 
tervals for  nearly  three  centuries.  In  its  more  acute 
form,  it  died  out  gradually,  not  from  any  growth  of  re- 
spect for  the  rights  of  the  Chinese,  nor  from  any  keener 
sense  of  decency  upon  the  part  of  those  actually  engaged 
in  it,  but  partly  from  an  increased  power  of  resistance 
shown  by  the  Chinese  with  a consequent  diminution  of 
profits  from  such  enterprises,  and  because  of  a change  of 
conditions  in  Europe. 

Would  the  Government  of  China  have  shown  itself  to 
be  anything  less  than  utterly  incompetent,  or  infamously 
neglectful  of  the  lives  and  property  of  its  subjects,  had 
it  failed  to  adopt  a policy  of  strict  seclusion  against  na- 
tions which,  so  far  as  it  knew  or  could  learn,  were  fitly 
represented  by  the  specimens  described  above  ? Was  not 


V 


38 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


the  length  of  time  during  which  the  Empire  suffered 
from  these  atrocities,  and  the  range  of  experience  gained 
from  them,  more  than  ample  to  justify  such  an  extreme 
measure?  With  all  men,  first  impressions  and  experi- 
ences appear  to  strike  deeper  and  to  have  a more  abiding 
force  than  any  which  may  come  after.  The  Chinese  are 
no  exception  to  this  rule,  and  to  this  day  they  judge  the 
nations  of  Europe  by  what  they  learned  of,  and  suffered 
from,  them  a number  of  centuries  ago. 

Harold  Gorst,  British  authority,  writing  so  recently  as 
1899,  thus  places  his  verdict  upon  record : “ Rapine,  mur- 
der and  a constant  appeal  to  physical  force,  chiefly  char- 
acterized the  commencement  of  Europe’s  commercial  in- 
tercourse with  China.  It  was  not  until  they  had  fully 
earned  the  title,  that  the  Europeans  acquired  the  dis- 
agreeable appellation  of  ‘ foreign  devils.’  In  the  eyes  of 
the  Chinese,  the  goal  at  which  all  Western  barbarians 
aimed  was  war  and  robbery.”  And  Dr.  Williams  says : 
“ The  outrageous  behavior  of  foreign  traders  themselves 
must  be  regarded  as  a chief  cause  of  the  watchful  se- 
clusion with  which  they  were  treated.  These  character- 
istics of  avarice,  lawlessness,  and  power  have  been  the 
leading  traits  in  the  Chinese  estimate  of  foreigners,  from 
their  first  acquaintance  with  them,  and  the  latter  have 
done  little  to  effectually  disabuse  Orientals  upon  these 
points.” 

Such  were  the  earlier  experiences  of  the  Chinese  with 
the  men  from  modern  Europe,  and  such  the  resultant 
ideas  which  they  gathered  concerning  them.  Under  the 
most  favorable  conditions  of  later  intercourse,  with  great 
conciliation  and  forbearance,  generations  must  have 
passed  before  these  memories  and  ideas  could  have  been 
removed,  and  contempt  and  fear  could  give  place  to 
respect  and  kindly  regard.  The  Chinese  are  slow  to 
abandon  prejudice,  and  much  tact,  patience,  and  open- 


CHINA  AND  THE  WESTERN  WORLD  39 


handed  pfcncrosity  of  feeling  must  have  been  called  into 
exercise,  before  the  old  barrier  wall  could  have  been 
torn  down,  and  any  satisfactory  relationship  have  been 
created. 

Most  unfortunately,  no  such  favorable  conditions  as 
those  mentioned  have  been  fulfilled.  True,  the  Chinese 
have  learned  very  much  regarding  Western  foreigners 
during  the  past  sixty  years  of  constant  intercourse.  To 
a limited  extent  they  have  learned-  to  discriminate  be- 
tween nations,  and  to  dissociate  the  generous  feelings 
and  plans  of  mutual  benefit  whicb  animate  some,  from 
the  arrogant  spirit  of  proprietorship,  selfish  greed  of 
gain,  and  lust  for  political  domination,  which  determine 
the  conduct  of  others.  But  it  has  been  an  unwelcome 
study  upon  the  part  of  the  Chinese.  Within  this  period 
of  sixty  years,  they  have  been  taught  to  their  bitter 
sorrow,  the  aggressive  force  and  persistent  determination 
of  Western  governments,  and  their  power  to  accomplish 
their  will.  They  have  had  many  object  lessons  in  West- 
ern civilization  set  before  them,  some  of  the  highest  and 
best  type,  and  others  of  the  lowest,  most  repulsive  and 
degrading.  They  have  fully  discovered,  or  think  that 
they  have,  which  amounts  to  the  same  thing,  what  is  the 
underlying  motive  and  purpose  of  all  European  interest 
in  them  and  conduct  toward  them.  And  that  motive  and 
purpose,  as  the  Chinese  to-day  believe  it  to  be,  can  be 
stated  in  two  words,  money-making  and  land-stealing. 
The  intelligent  thinking  minds  of  the  Empire,  and  they 
are  many,  have  not  been  quite  ignorant  of,  or  watched 
idly,  the  course  of  political  events  in  other  parts  of  the 
world,  as  directed  and  determined  by  the  great  European 
powers.  They  put  their  own  construction  upon  the 
absorption  of  Burma,  the  mutilation  of  Siam,  and  the 
dissection  and  distribution  of  the  great  body  of  the 
African  continent.  And  within  the  last  sixty  years 


40 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


they  have  at  least  recognized  the  necessity  of  copying 
one  Western  idea — the  development  of  the  resources  of 
the  Empire  in  the  direction  of  self-defense. 

So  far  as  is  known,  the  first  treaty  negotiated  between 
China  and  any  European  government  was  with  Russia, 
and  was  signed  in  August,  1689.  This,  however,  was  not 
a treaty  of  commercial  intercourse,  its  object  being  to 
delimit  certain  disputed  boundary  lines  between  the  two 
empires.  While  the  English  were  the  last  of  the  great 
nations  of  modern  Europe  to  establish  intercourse  with 
the  Chinese,  their  commerce  has  been  greater  than  that 
of 'all  other  foreign  nations  combined,  and  the  British 
Government  made  the  first  commercial  treaty  with  the 
Emperor  of  China.  What  the  influence  of  the  English 
in  the  Chinese  Empire  was,  prior  to  the  negotiation  of 
this  treaty,  may  best  be  told  in  the  words  of  Dr.  Williams. 
He  says : “ This  intercourse  has  not  been  such  as  was 
calculated  to  impress  the  Chinese  with  a just  idea  of  the 
British  nation  as  a leading  Christian  people ; for  the  East 
India  Company,  which  had  a monopoly  of  the  trade  be- 
tween the  two  countries  for  nearly  two  centuries,  sys- 
tematically opposed  every  effort  to  diffuse  Christian 
doctrine  and  general  knowledge  among  them  (the 
Chinese)  down  to  the  end  of  their  control  in  1834.” 
What  British  influence  and  action  have  been  in  the 
Chinese  Empire  since  the  date  just  mentioned,  1834,  is 
described  in  detail  by  Dr.  Hamilton  Wright,  in  his  ad- 
dress upon  the  “ Opium  Problem.” 

There  is  no  intention  to  assert  that,  during  the  sixty 
years  of  modern  intercourse  with  foreign  governments, 
the  latter  have  had  no  causes  of  complaint  against  the 
Chinese  Empire.  Upon  the  contrary,  such  causes  have 
been  many,  persistent,  and  serious.  China  has  evaded 
and  nullified  treaty  obligations,  and,  by  devious  ways  and 
methods,  destroyed  the  value  of  her  pledges.  As  inti- 


CHINA  AND  THE  WESTERN  WORLD  41 


mated  at  the  outset,  her  constant  disposition  has  been  re- 
calcitrant in  the  extreme,  and  her  unvarying  attitude  has 
been  that  of  one  whose  friendship  had  been  unwillingly 
granted,  and,  but  for  fear  of  the  consequences,  would  at 
once  be  withdrawn. 

But  what  thoughtful  person,  possessed  of  even  a slight 
knowledge  of  human  nature,  could  look  for  any  different 
attitude.  The  entire  situation  is  so  plain  as  to  require 
hardly  a word  of  explanation.  Her  only  knowledge  of 
the  Western  world  had  been  gained  by  the  contact  and 
experiences  already  described.  And  when  modern 
diplomatic  relations  were  established,  it  was  accompanied 
by  force  and,  as  every  Chinaman  will  believe  to  the  end 
of  time,  for  the  sole  purpose  of  the  profit  to  be  derived 
from  a traffic  alike  unwelcome  and  deadly  to  the  entire 
race.  Is  there  anything  unnatural  or  impertinent  in  the 
inquiry,  made  by  every  intelligent  Chinese,  why,  if  opium 
is  harmless  and  even  wholesome,  the  government  of 
Great  Britain  does  not  encourage  the  natives  of  India 
to  use  it,  and  so  create  a home  market  for  the  product? 
And,  so  long  as  the  Chinese  are  human,  and  reason  as 
do  men  of  other  races,  under  what  peculiar  mental  proc- 
ess can  they  be  expected  to  differentiate  the  modern 
European  from  his  prototype,  the  earlier  freebooter  and 
pirate?  Modern  modes  of  getting  gain  at  the  expense  of 
others  may  be  more  quiet  and  gradual,  and  even  more 
strictly  within  the  lines  of  civilization,  but  they  are  more 
widespread  in  their  fatal  results. 

The  whole  point  lies  just  here.  If  the  same  efforts 
had  been  made  by  Great  Britain  to  develop  any  honest 
commerce  with  China,  it  would  at  first  have  been  opposed. 
But,  gradually,  the  mutual  benefits  arising  from  it  would 
have  changed  Chinese  sentiment,  for  they  are  shrewd 
traders,  and  the  empire  would  have  come  slowly,  but 
willingly,  into  friendly  intercourse  and  kindly  relations 


42 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


with  Europe  and  America.  And  if  Great  Britain  had 
made  the  same  efforts  to  develop  honest  commerce,  not 
one-tenth  of  the  complaints  justly  made  against  the 
Chinese  Government  would  have  arisen. 

Under  the  most  favorable  conditions,  it  was  inevitable 
that  a considerable  amount  of  friction  and  disagreement 
should  exist.  For,  when  the  detailed  treaties  of  “ amity 
and  commerce,”  as  they  are  called,  were  negotiated, 
practically  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet,  it  was  thought 
necessary,  and  wisely  so,  to  deprive  the  Emperor  of 
China  of  two  of  the  essential  qualities  of  sovereignty. 
He  was  not  allowed  to  fix  the  rate  of  export  or  import 
duty  upon  foreign-owned  merchandise,  and  he  was  not 
allowed  jurisdiction  over  the  persons  or  property  of 
foreigners  who  might  be  within  the  limits  of  his  Empire. 
These  conditions  were  intensely  galling  to  the  emperor, 
as  they  would  be  to  any  other  monarch,  and  were  only 
accepted  under  force.  What  but  the  narrowest  possible 
interpretation  of  treaties,  which  contained  such  degrad- 
ing features,  could  be  expected?  What  but  friction  and 
dispute  were  to  be  looked  for  in  the  enforcement  of  the 
two  great  departments  of  every  general  international 
compact,  the  regulation  of  commerce,  and  the  protection 
and  control  of  individuals? 

It  is  like  gaining  a breath  of  pure  air,  after  breathing 
the  poisonous  fumes  of  a narcotic,  to  turn  from  the 
history  of  this  wretched  and  disgraceful  attempt  to  force 
opium  upon  an  unwilling  people,  to  the  primary  treaty 
negotiations  between  the  United  States  and  China. 
Caleb  Cushing,  that  distinguished  authority  upon  inter- 
national law,  was  the  representative  appointed  for  the 
purpose.  He  received  the  most  courteous  treatment  at 
the  hands  of  the  Chinese  authorities,  negotiations  were 
promptly  begun,  and  the  treaty  was  signed  July  3,  1844. 


CHINA  AND  THE  WESTERN  WORLD  43 


Because  of  its  fullness  of  details  and  clearness  of  state- 
ment, it  was  for  many  years  the  final  authority  in  set- 
tling all  disputes,  between  the  Chinese  officials  and 
foreigners  of  all  nationalities,  regarding  treaty  rights. 
A French  envoy  reached  China  in  August  of  the  same 
year,  and  the  French  treaty  was  signed  in  October,  1844. 
Of  these  two  embassies.  Dr.  Williams,  who  was  upon 
the  spot  at  the  time,  says : “ The  gratification  of  the 
Chinese  statesmen  at  finding  that  the  missions  from  the 
American  and  French  Governments  were  not  sent,  like 
the  English  expedition,  to  demand  indemnity  and  the 
cession  of  an  island,  was  great.”  The  Lffiited  States  has 
always  maintained  the  good  opinion  of  the  Chinese  Gov- 
ernment, then  and  thus  secured.  But  it  ought  to  be  said 
that  whatever  remissness  in  formulating  demands  France 
exhibited  at  that  time,  has  been  amply  atoned  for  and 
balanced  since.  Treaties  between  other  Western  powers 
and  China  were  not  concluded  until  some  years  later. 
And  all  of  these  first  compacts  were,  in  a sense,  tentative 
and  preliminary.  They  did  not  bring  foreign  govern- 
ments into  direct  touch  and  communication  with  the  Im- 
perial head  of  the  Chinese  people.  That  was  not  ac- 
complished until  1861,  when,  as  a result  of  the  second 
opium  war,  a forced  consent  was  given  to  the  permanent 
residence  of  diplomatic  representatives  at  Peking. 

Perhaps  the  most  important  period  of  the  foreign  rela- 
tions of  China  lies  between  1861  and  1902.  Ample 
material  for  volumes  of  the  most  interesting  history  may 
be  found  there.  None  of  it,  however,  could  be  either 
rightly  understood,  or  justly  weighed,  without  some 
knowledge  of  the  facts  and  events  of  the  preceding  cen- 
turies, rather  than  years.  Only  a sentence  or  two,  of 
the  most  condensed  summary  of  this  recent  period,  can 
be  given  here,  in  conclusion. 


44 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


The  general  attitude  and  disposition  of  the  Chinese 
Government  has  been  sufficiently  described.  And  it 
ought  to  be  said,  in  order  to  correct  many  current  mis- 
statements, that,  in  the  main,  the  authorities,  in  their 
policy  and  action,  have  been  simply  the  servants  of 
Chinese  public  opinion.  The  policy  of  European  powers 
lias  not  been  of  a conciliatory  character,  but  rather  one 
of  aggression,  greed,  and  self-seeking.  Foreign  trade 
interests  have  been  pressed,  and  insisted  upon,  when  they 
forced  the  Chinese  Government  to  discriminate  against 
its  own  people ; and  China  has  been  forced  to  grant  con- 
cessions to  foreigners,  which  involved  serious  injury  to 
native  commerce.  Pecuniary  claims  have  been  presented, 
and  forced  to  a settlement,  which  no  diplomat  would  dare 
whisper  to  an  American  or  European  Secretary  of  State. 
And  if  China,  upon  her  part,  has  shown  arrogance  and 
conceit,  the  European  representatives  have  talked  threat- 
eningly, made  a show  of  foree,  and,  in  general,  assumed 
a constant  air  of  patronage  and  proprietorship  which  has 
been  insufferably  vexatious  to  the  Chinese. 

As  has  been  said.  Great  Britain  has  persisted  in  her 
prosecution  of  the  opium  trade  in  the  face  of  almost  con- 
.stant  appeals  from  the  emperor,  has  carried  on  a system 
of  exploitation  of  the  interior  in  the  interests  of  Briti.sh 
trade,  as  though  it  were  her  own  soil,  and  not  the  home 
and  property  of  a so-called  “ friendly  power,”  and  has 
shown  her  usual  readiness  to  seize  territory  wherever  it 
was  consistent  with  a purely  selfish  policy  to  do  so.  Ger- 
many has  been  guilty  of  aggression  upon  the  domain 
of  the  emperor.  Russia  has  crowded  down  upon  the 
north  and  west.  And  yet  it  ought  to  be  said  that  the 
Chinese  fear  Russia  less  than  any  other  European  power, 
and  have  a kindlier — or  rather,  'ess  hostile — feeling  to- 
ward her.  And  France  has  played  a full  part  in  the 
creation  and  maintenance  of  Chine.se  animosity,  by  a 


CHINA  AND  THE  WESTERN  WORLD  45 


policy  identical  with  that  just  outlined.  In  particular, 
she  has  sustained  the  unwise  demands  of  Catholic  mis- 
sionaries, especially  those  in  the  south  and  west,  for  a 
sort  of  semi-political  position,  and  for  the  right  to  inter- 
fere in  civil  matters  between  native  converts  and  local 
authorities. 

In  short,  the  entire  attitude  of  the  great  European 
powers  towards  China  has  been  selfishly  aggressive  and 
unendurable  by  the  sensitive  and  proud-spirited  Chinese. 
They  have  regarded  that  ancient  empire  as  a cow  to  be 
milked,  or  butchered ; as  a goose  to  be  plucked.  As  an 
English  writer  said,  not  long  ago,  in  reviewing  a book 
entitled  “ The  Real  Chinese  Question,”  “ The  only  ques- 
tion is,  what  the  powers  of  Europe  will  decide  to  do 
with  China.”  That  statement  correctly  represents  Euro- 
pean policy  and  action.  And  the  Boxer  movement  was 
the  inevitable  result  of  it.  The  statement  that  it  was 
caused,  directly  or  indirectly  by  Protestant  missionaries, 
is  a baseless  and  wicked  falsehood.  The  only  wonder  is 
not  that  it  came,  but  that  the  coming  was  delayed  so 
long.  If  the  great  powers  of  Europe  had  concurred, 
forty  years  since,  in  the  humane  and  reasonable  policy 
adopted  and  consistently  followed  by  the  United  States, 
there  would  have  been  no  Boxer  movement,  and  no 
serious  or  irremediable  friction,  or  conflict,  between  this 
great  Oriental  empire  and  the  Western  world.  And 
when  those  powers  will  recognize  the  fact  that  the  China- 
man is  a man  with  a man’s  rights,  among  which  is  the 
right  to  the  occupancy  and  possession  of  his  own  soil ; 
that  “ China  is  for  the  Chinese,”  and  not  merely  a 
treasure  deposit  for  them,  then  better  relations  will 
come. 

When  China  is  gpven  such  opportunity  as,  thanks  to 
the  initiative  of  the  United  States,  was  conceded  to 
Japan,  to  develop  and  progress  somewhat  along  her  own 


46 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


lines,  and  in  free  conformity  with  her  own  ideas,  then 
the  growth  of  the  empire  will  begin,  the  path  of  inter- 
national intercourse  will  be  less  vexed  and  stormy,  and 
the  story  of  the  foreign  relations  of  China  will  be  a 
more  pleasant  story  to  tell. 


Ill 


A SKETCH  OF  THE  RELATIONS  BETWEEN 
THE  UNITED  STATES  AND  CHINA 

The  intercourse  between  America  and  China  con- 
stitutes only  a single,  and  relatively  a brief,  episode  in 
the  history  of  the  past  century  in  Asia.  It  is  inseparably 
connected  with  the  relations  of  various  European  states 
with  China,  but  some  advantage  may  be  derived  from 
considering  the  story  by  itself.  As  illustrating  the  larger 
subject  of  the  attitude  of  the  Chinese  toward  all  foreign 
nations  it  has  certain  features  not  to  be  found  in  their 
dealings  with  Europeans,  while  it  shows  in  every  incident 
their  consistent  determination  to  maintain  the  ideals  of 
their  ancient  culture.  The  purpose  of  this  paper  is  to 
review  briefly  a hundred  and  twenty  years  of  recent 
history  with  the  hope  of  finding  at  once  some  basis  of 
American  policy  toward  the  Chinese  Empire  and  some 
interpretation,  if  possible,  of  Chinese  polity.^ 

As  a race  the  Chinese  possess  many  qualities  of  great 
economic  value  which  make  them  a factor  of  significance 
in  the  industrial  world  of  to-day.  The  question,  how- 
ever, which  attracts  the  speculative  historian,  relates 
rather  to  the  influence  of  their  past  upon  the  mentality 
of  the  people.  The  place  of  China  as  a potential  factor 
in  the  world’s  future,  is  evident  enough  even  to  those 
superficially  acquainted  with  the  country  and  its  inhabit- 
ants. It  remains  to  explain  from  our  knowledge  of  her 

1 An  admirable  summary  of  American  intercourse  with  China 
is  to  be  found  in  General  J.  W.  Foster’s  “ American  Diplomacy 
in  the  Orient,”  Boston,  1903. 


47 


48 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


history  why  she  has  thus  far  persisted  in  her  opposition 
to  Western  peoples  and  in  her  indifference  to  their 
message,  and  then  to  determine,  if  we  may,  what  prospect 
there  is  for  a change  of  attitude  in  the  immediate  future. 
The  status  of  China  among  nations  is  not  without  prec- 
edent in  history ; it  is  interesting  because  she  alone 
amongst  great  states  has  preserved  into  modern  times 
the  antique  idea  of  isolation  and  self-sufficiency,  and  be- 
cause ages  have  hardened  the  habits  of  the  multitude  of 
individuals  concerned.  The  shrewder  and  best  informed 
among  these  individuals  are  now  aware  that  something 
is  wrong  with  their  great  civilization,  but  they  rebel  as 
yet,  for  the  most  part,  against  those  who  insist  upon 
applying  unpalatable  European  ideals  as  a panacea  for 
all  their  ills.  These  ideals  are  hateful  to  them  in  es- 
sence because  they  contravene  the  basic  principles  upon 
which  their  own  glorious  past  was  established.  The 
West  has  long  emphasized  the  individual  as  the  social 
unit,  and  the  individual  when  spurred  to  personal  ambi- 
tion is  the  dynamic  factor  in  the  history  of  its  progress. 
The  East  in  abiding  by  the  family  as  the  unit,  maintain- 
ing the  principles  of  the  past,  refuses  to  advance  beyond 
the  point  which  the  past  has  considered  the  limit  of 
safety.  It  is  as  difficult  for  the  one  as  for  the  other 
to  refrain  from  exalting  its  own  superiority.  It  is  hard 
for  each  to  understand,  harder  still  to  sympathize ; but  it 
is  at  least  possible  for  the  unprejudiced  observer  to  com- 
prehend from  these  premises  how  the  idea  of  progress 
and  improvement  in  international  intercourse,  symbolic 
of  the  hopeful  West  to-day,  must  to  the  righteousness  of 
old-fashioned  China  appear  simply  a sacrilege  because  it 
disregards  precedent.  Representatives  of  Christendom 
in  dealing  with  the  Chinese  have  for  the  most  part  esti- 
mated them  by  Western  standards,  unconscious  of  the 
difference  in  values  between  the  two  civilizations.  It  is 


THE  UNITED  STATES  AND  CHINA  49 


only  at  rare  intervals  that  individuals  of  strong  sympathy 
and  breadth  of  view  have  modified  the  antagonism  in- 
evitable between  self-reliant  and  widely  separated  races. 

With  this  as  an  introduction  it  may  be  easier  for  us 
to  undertake  a consideration  of  some  phases  of  American 
intercourse  with  the  Chinese.  International  relations 
between  the  two  peoples  began  at  the  opening  of  our 
national  life.  At  the  conclusion  of  our  Revolutionary 
War,  England’s  colonial  system,  which  had  forbidden  all 
outside  trade  with  her  American  colonies,  could  no  longer 
prevent  our  ships  from  going  abroad,  but  the  removal 
of  this  check  at  the  same  time  closed  the  hitherto  lucra- 
tive commerce  of  these  colonies  with  the  West  Indies. 
The  Empress  of  China,  from  New  York,  was  the  first 
Yankee  ship  to  invade  the  exclusive  region  of  the  Eng- 
lish East  India  Company,  by  arriving  at  Canton  with  a 
load  of  ginseng  in  the  summer  of  1784.  As  a beginning 
this  epoch-making  voyage  may  be  considered  most 
auspicious.  Shaw,  the  supercargo,  says : “ The  Chinese 
were  very  indulgent  toward  her.  . . , Styled  us  the 

new  people ; and  when  by  the  map  we  conveyed  to  them 
an  idea  of  the  extent  of  our  countr>’-  with  its  present  and 
increasing  population,  they  were  highly  pleased  at  the 
prospect  of  so  considerable  a market  for  the  productions 
of  theirs.”  He  did  not  understand  as  well  as  we  do  to- 
day that  this  was  the  complacency  exhibited  by  a few 
local  traders  welcoming  the  prospect  of  some  increase 
in  their  traffic  and  perquisites.  It  was  a long  time  before 
official  China  realized  that  anything  had  happened  in  the 
advent  of  a new  nation  thus  quietly  heralded. 

Shaw’s  expedition,  if  it  may  be  so  called,  met  with  the 
approval  of  his  own  countrymen  and  trade  between 
America  and  China  began  with  a rush.  Profits,  however, 
fell  because  there  was  no  adequate  supply  of  articles  in 
either  country  which  were  demanded  by  the  other,  but 


50 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


two  important  causes  maintained  it  for  nearly  half  a 
century.  The  first  of  these  was  the  turmoil  of  the 
Napoleonic  wars,  which  after  1795  made  tlie  Americans 
practically  common  carriers  of  the  world.  A second 
cause  was  that  derived  from  a development  of  the 
gathering  of  fur  seals  and  sandal  wood,  both  of  them 
highly  prized  in  the  Chinese  market.  The  chief  reason, 
however,  for  the  success  of  American  traders  in  the  East 
must  be  found  in  their  entire  freedom  from  government 
restraint  at  a time  when  all  Europeans  were  controlled 
by  the  monopolies  given  to  their  various  East  India  com- 
panies. As  an  indication  of  the  relative  importance  of 
China  to  America  a hundred  years  ago  and  now,  it  is 
rather  suggestive  to  learn  that  the  thirty-seven  vessels, 
carrying  in  1805  nearly  five  and  three-quarters  millions’ 
worth  of  goods  to  Canton,  represented  a larger  fraction 
of  our  total  commerce  than  our  trade  with  the  whole  em- 
pire to-day.  So  far  as  it  went,  moreover,  it  was  a profit- 
able business  despite  the  quantity  of  silver  which  it  took 
to  Asia.  The  silver  imported  to  balance  American  trade 
with  China  averaged  over  two  and  a half  millions  an- 
nually in  the  thirty  years  down  to  1827,  reaching  a 
maximum  of  seven  and  a half  millions  in  1818,  but  the 
import  of  opium  from  India  eventually  turned  the  balance 
of  trade  against  China  until  the  drain  of  silver  from  that 
country  became  one  of  the  ostensible  causes  for  the 
rupture  with  Great  Britain. 

For  profitable  though  the  trade  was  for  the  time  be- 
ing, it  must  not  be  imagined  that  it  bulked  very  large  in 
the  imagination  of  our  forefathers  who  were  occupied  in 
exploiting  their  own  great  domain.  A trader  was  given 
the  nominal  position  of  American  consul  at  Canton,  but 
his  powers  were  confined  to  ordinary  commercial  busi- 
ness, and  he  had  no  real  status  as  a diplomatic  agent.  It 
is  evident  that  the  United  States  as  a nation  did  not 


THE  UNITED  STATES  AND  CHINA  51 


care  to  incur  the  responsibilities  of  diplomatic  inter- 
course with  China  until  it  had  made  its  way  across  the 
American  continent  and  faced  her  from  across  the 
Pacific. 

The  only  episode  which  ever  caused  any  real  contention 
between  America  and  the  Chinese  previous  to  the  Opium 
War  was  the  apprehension  of  one  Terranova,  an  Italian 
sailor,  who  in  1821  had  to  be  handed  over  from  an 
American  ship  to  the  Chinese  authorities  on  charge  of 
homicide.  The  poor  fellow  was  executed,  as  our  coun- 
trymen thought,  most  brutally,  but  they  were  well  aware 
that  they  lived  in  Canton  only  upon  suflFerance  and  under 
Chinese  law.  The  contempt  of  the  Chinese  for  all 
foreigners  as  barbarians,  and  the  lack  of  any  means  of 
adjusting  disputes  between  nations  who  had  no  diplo- 
matic agents,  made  it  necessary  for  America,  unless  in- 
deed she  wished  to  declare  war,  to  keep  aloof  from  the 
Chinese  Government  and  throw  her  traders  living  in  the 
Empire  upon  their  own  resources.  There  was  some 
similarity  in  the  situation  to  conditions  on  our  frontier. 
Criticism,  indeed,  was  heard  in  America  of  the  English 
policy  which  ultimately  took  up  the  gauge  of  war  and 
came  to  blows  with  the  Chinese  in  1840.  But  whatever 
may  be  said  for  the  morals  of  the  famous  opium-war 
controversy,  the  Americans  showed  no  hesitation  in 
carrying  goods  in  their  vessels  during  the  war  and  in 
taking  advantage  of  the  fortunate  outcome. 

After  the  conclusion  of  peace  at  Nanking  in  1842, 
Admiral  Kearney  of  the  American  squadron,  then  visit- 
ing Canton,  induced  the  viceroy  of  the  two  southern 
provinces  to  memorialize  the  palace  to  place  America 
on  the  same  footing  as  England  in  securing  the  advan- 
tages of  that  treaty.  One  of  the  British  commissioners 
declared  that  to  this  man  was  due  the  credit  of  throwing 
open  the  five  treaty  ports  to  all  foreigners  alike.  It 


52 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


might  be  an  interesting  speculation  to  consider  what 
China  might  have  done  had  she  bethought  herself  in  this 
crisis  of  a selfish  compact  between  England  and  herself 
against  all  other  trade  competitors.  It  is  worth  remark- 
ing that  China  on  this  and  other  great  occasions  has  ex- 
hibited a breadth  of  view  curiously  in  contrast  with  her 
astuteness  and  narrowness  in  many  small  affairs. 

In  Caleb  Cushing,  the  commissioner  sent  by  the  United 
States  in  1844  to  begin  our  diplomatic  history  there  and 
negotiate  a treaty  with  China,  we  have  the  first  of  a 
series  of  Americans  remarkably  endowed  by  nature  to 
deal  with  the  rather  elastic  conditions  of  Asiatic  diplo- 
macy. The  Cushing  treaty  negotiated  with  Kiying,  the 
Chinese  commissioner,  bestowed  upon  Americans  all 
the  rights  and  privileges  which  had  been  secured  by 
British  military  operations.  It  is  chiefly  notable  for  com- 
prising these  in  language  at  once  so  felicitous  and  suc- 
cinct as  to  have  rendered  the  document,  negotiated  by  a 
Boston  lawyer,  the  model  for  many  subsequent  conven- 
tions between  China  and  foreign  powers. 

With  this  treaty  began  the  residence  of  Westerners  at 
five  places  along  the  China  coast  under  the  government 
and  control  of  their  own  consuls.  It  was  the  condition 
of  extra  territoriality,  familiar  now  to  Europeans  in 
Asia,  but  until  that  time  confined  to  a few  scattered  settle- 
ments outside  of  Christendom.  The  Chinese  conceded 
this  right  to  all  Christian  peoples  who  asked  for  it,  al- 
most as  a matter  of  course,  as  had  been  the  case  in 
Turkey  long  before,  and  was  to  be  the  case  in  Japan. 

In  order  to  understand  the  readiness  with  which  this 
important  privilege  was  yielded  as  a mere  by-product  of 
the  war,  we  must  recall  the  premise  with  which  I began — 
China  constituted  a society  working  automatically,  ob- 
durate to  new  ideas,  capable  only  of  applying  ancient 
precedents.  It  was  easier  to  award  the  “ barbarians  ” 


THE  UNITED  STATES  AND  CHINA  53 


the  treatment  meted  out  to  certain  recalcitrant  aboriginal 
tribes  in  the  interior,  allowing  them  self-government 
under  various  restrictions,  than  to  study  and  comprehend 
the  complex  nature  of  the  irrepressible  visitors  from  be- 
yond the  ocean.  Though  conscious  of  its  weakness  on 
the  sea,  the  Chinese  Government  still  felt  that  it  had 
nothing  to  learn  from  the  West.  It  had  been  defeated 
but  not  convinced.  The  autocrat  cooped  up  in  his  palace 
at  Peking  cherished  the  foolish  phantom  of  a state  su- 
preme above  all  other  states  in  the  world,  yet  in  his 
vanity  he  was  yielding  to  the  detested  strangers  rights 
under  which  they  were  presently  to  defy  him  in  his  own 
domain.  In  this  crisis  of  national  life  we  realize  there- 
fore that  the  chief  menace  to  China’s  existence  arose 
from  her  fidelity  to  her  own  ancient  institutions.  Had 
she  been  less  thoroughly  imbued  with  the  idea  of  her 
high  culture  she  might  have  bent  to  the  storm  and  taken 
counsel  in  her  adversity.  But  she  refused  to  learn. 
Weakened  by  political  corruption  and  vitiated  by  the 
new  vice  which  was  stealing  away  the  brains  of  her 
officials,  she  persisted  in  an  attitude  of  non  possumus 
toward  the  Europeans  who  would  willingly  have  helped 
her,  and  so  drifted  on  the  way  to  destruction. 

Throughout  this  pathetic  phase  in  the  distress  of  a 
great  nation  the  policy  of  America  was  from  the  first 
one  of  friendship.  The  interest  in  our  country  in 
preaching  the  gospel  in  Asia  was  of  itself  sufficient  to 
render  Americans  sympathetic  with  a helpless  though 
obdurate  people,  and  the  cause  of  missions  has  influenced 
public  opinion  more  in  America  than  elsewhere.  But 
however  great  the  sympathy  of  Christian  teachers  with 
the  needs  and  helplessness  of  China,  it  was  from  the  first 
obvious  that  she  required  a degree  of  compulsion  from 
abroad  sufficient  to  force  her  away  from  her  vain  belief 
in  the  efficacy  of  her  ancient  system.  Yet  it  is  a danger- 


54 


CHINA  AND'  THE  FAR  EAST 


ous  thing  when  any  nation  undertakes  the  work  of  the 
schoolmaster.  No  nation  in  the  past  has  emerged  very 
creditably  from  the  self-appointed  task  of  instructing 
another ; the  teacher  soon  becomes  the  bully,  punitive  ex- 
peditions turn  into  predatory  raids,  and  national  char- 
acter under  the  strain  of  easy  victories  deteriorates.  As 
the  figment  of  China’s  supposed  strength  was  dissipated, ' 
representatives  from  all  Christian  states  showed  indica- 
tions of  the  immoralities  involved  in  this  peculiar  inter- 
national relation.  Perhaps  the  mere  fact  that  Americans 
did  little  at  this  time  in  the  East,  owing  to  the  engross- 
ing problems  of  politics  at  home,  may  account  for  the 
creditable  record  of  our  country  at  this  period.  "We 
need  not  boast,  but  we  may  at  least  declare  that  we 
emerged  as  little  corrupted  as  any  of  the  partners  con- 
cerned in  the  great  game.  It  is  true,  nevertheless,  that 
all  Christian  peoples  alike  must  be  blamed  for  adopting 
an  attitude  of  hauteur  and  disdain  toward  the  Chinese. 
Our  Minister,  Mr.  George  F.  Seward,  a few  years  later 
than  this  epoch,  rightly  called  a halt  to  this  attitude  of 
our  own  people  when  he  wrote,  “ The  sooner  we  rise 
to  the  idea  of  dealing  with  this  government  as  being 
actuated  by  very  much  the  same  motives  of  dignity, 
patriotism  and  public  policy  which  actuate  other  govern- 
ments, the  sooner  we  shall  be  able  to  place  our  relations 
upon  an  enduring  basis  of  good  will  and  common  in- 
terests.” 

For  a dozen  years  after  the  conclusion  of  Caleb  Cush- 
ing’s treaty,  the  United  States  contented  itself  with 
representatives  who  were  entitled  Commissioners  in 
China.  The  first  of  these,  Mr.  John  W.  Davis,  was 
chiefly  occupied  in  installing  our  consuls  and  defining 
their  judicial  functions  under  the  system  of  extra  terri- 
toriality. He  was  followed  by  Humphrey  Marshall  and 
Robert  M.  McLane,  both  of  whom  failed  to  meet  the 


THE  UNITED  STATES  AND  CHINA  55 


famous  Viceroy  Yeh  in  Canton,  or  to  make  the  least 
impression  in  resisting  his  policy  of  studied  insult  in 
respect  to  all  foreigners.  The  latter  joined  with  British 
and  French  representatives  in  a visit  to  Taku  in  1854  in 
order  to  meet  a Chinese  commissioner  there,  and  plan 
with  him  some  revision  of  the  existing  treaty.  The  at- 
tempt met  with  no  success  whatever,  but  in  spite  of  this 
check,  it  is  creditable  to  our  representative  that  in  his 
disappointment  he  had  the  fairness  to  insist  upon  the 
payment  by  American  merchants  in  Shanghai  of  customs 
duties  which  had  been  withheld  from  the  Chinese  Govern- 
ment during  the  period  of  the  rebel  occupation  of  that 
city.  Under  similar  circumstances  the  British  merchants 
in  the  same  place  had  refused  to  do  so. 

Our  relations  with  the  Chinese  officials  were  gravely 
threatened  in  the  period  following  the  “ Arrow  ” incident 
by  the  opening  of  the  guns  on  the  Bogue  forts  upon  a 
United  States  warship.  The  forts  were  promptly  si- 
lenced by  the  only  military  operation  which  Americans 
ever  undertook  against  the  Chinese  until  the  year  1900. 
The  Chinese,  however,  appear  to  have  been  as  clearly 
conscious  of  the  nature  of  this  offense  as  the  Americans ; 
and  no  ill-will  resulted  from  a gross  insult  promptly 
avenged.  Had  our  representative.  Dr.  Peter  Parker, 
then  had  his  way,  we  should,  with  some  justification, 
have  joined  in  the  military  expedition  of  France  and 
Great  Britain  against  the  Chinese,  but  to  Dr.  Parker’s 
suggestion  of  co-operation.  Secretary  Marcy  replied  that 
“ The  British  Government  evidently  had  objects  beyond 
those  contemplated  by  the  United  States  and  we  ought 
not  to  be  drawm  along  with  it,  however  anxious  it  may 
be  for  our  co-operation.”  This  attitude  of  America  in 
the  Far  East  has  been  consistently  observed  ever  since 
that  time.  The  crisis,  however,  was  much  too  important 
for  the  United  States  to  ignore.  Our  new  representa- 


56 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


tive,  Mr.  William  B.  Reed,  was  sent  to  China  with  the 
higher  title  of  Minister  Plenipotentiary  to  press  negotia- 
tions by  peaceful  methods  only.  He  united  with  the 
allies,  convinced  of  the  futility  of  treating  China  like  any 
ordinary  power,  and  advised  his  government  to  advance 
upon  Peking  “ with  a decisive  tone  and  available  force.” 
But  when  he  in  turn  asked  for  the  necessary  power  to 
enforce  coercion  upon  an  obdurate  court.  Secretary  Cass 
replied  that  the  President  was  not  yet  willing  to  ask 
Congress  to  seek  redress  by  resort  to  arms.  It  was  a 
tempting  opportunity  and  might  have  been  morally 
justified,  but  America  held  her  hand  except  to  endorse 
by  her  minister’s  presence  the  claims  of  the  West  to 
free  intercourse. 

The  expedition  to  Tientsin  which  followed  involved 
the  American  envoy  in  an  uncomfortable  and  anomalous 
position  as  regards  his  colleagues.  The  situation  was 
greatly  ameliorated  by  the  suavity  of  Baron  Gros,  the 
French  representative,  and  the  co-operation  of  Count 
Putiatine,  the  Russian  minister.  We  must  not  blame 
too  severely  the  reserve  of  Lord  Elgin,  remembering  the 
great  responsibilities  committed  to  his  charge.  But  it 
remains  to  be  said  that  a more  genial  diplomatist  than  he 
might  have  secured  from  his  coadjutors  more  sym- 
pathetic support.^  America’s  contribution  to  the  negotia- 
tions at  Tientsin  was  chiefly  the  acknowledgment  of 
religious  liberty  obtained  from  the  Chinese,  the  Magna 
Charta  in  some  sense  of  all  present  missionary  opera- 
tions conducted  in  that  country.  New  trade  regulations 
involving  a revision  of  the  tarifif  were  settled  subse- 
quently in  Shanghai.  In  all,  the  American  indemnities 
for  losses  to  the  merchants  and  missionaries  before  the 

* A brief  documentary  history  of  the  negotiations  is  con- 
tained in  C.  S.  Leavenworth’s  “Arrow  War  with  China,”  (Sam- 
son, Low,  1901),  a little  volume  not  sufficiently  well  known. 


THE  UNITED  STATES  AND  CHINA  5; 


war  amounted  to  only  $735,000;  of  this  an  unexpended 
balance  of  $453,400  was  returned  to  China  by  our  gov- 
ernment in  1885. 

Mr.  Reed’s  successor,  Robert  E.  Ward,  arrived  at  Taku 
in  the  summer  of  1859  with  the  European  allies  on  his 
way  to  exchange  the  ratified  treaty  in  Peking.  It  was 
at  this  time  that  the  sudden  check  of  the  second  battle 
of  the  Taku  Forts  occurred,  when  Commodore  Tatnall 
valorously  but  with  doubtful  propriety  assisted  in  tow- 
ing some  of  the  British  boats  into  action  on  the  plea  that 
“ blood  is  thicker  than  water.”  As  we  were  not  in- 
volved otherwise  in  this  conflict,  there  appeared  to  be  no 
reason  why  our  representative  should  decline  the  offer 
of  safe  conduct  on  the  part  of  the  Chinese  authorities 
to  Peking  by  another  route.  In  the  long  controversy 
which  ensued  at  the  capital  between  our  minister  and  the 
statesmen  at  the  court  over  the  question  of  Audience 
Ceremonial,  appears  once  more  the  China  of  immutable 
institutions  face  to  face  with  the  new  world.  Although 
dealing  with  a matter  which  most  Americans  would  have 
considered  a mere  trifle  of  etiquette,  the  legation  was 
fortunately  alive  to  the  extreme  importance  of  the  de- 
bate. Thereby  depended  the  fate  of  future  diplomatic 
relations  between  China  and  the  West.  It  was  her  de- 
sire to  induce  compliance  with  the  ancient  ceremonial 
usages  of  her  court  and  impose  the  famous  kotow  upon 
the  ambassador  approaching  the  throne  in  order  to  es- 
tablish a high  precedent,  and  thus  in  her  own  expression 
” to  save  her  face  ” before  her  own  people.  There  can 
be  no  question  of  the  genuineness  of  Chinese  civilization 
when  we  recall  that  this  little  company  of  twenty  Amer- 
icans, representatives  of  those  hated  foreigners  who  had 
already  inflicted  so  much  disaster  upon  the  Chinese,  were 
entertained  in  perfect  safety  in  the  heart  of  the  capital 
and  allowed  to  withdraw  without  embarrassment  after 


58 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


refusing  compliance  with  the  dearest  wish  of  the  Em- 
peror and  his  supporters.  A barbarous  state  would  never 
have  shown  such  moderation.  The  rejection  of  all  offers 
to  compromise  the  ceremonials  brought  about  no  show 
of  truculence  or  any  acts  of  petty  spite  on  the  part  of 
the  court.  The  President’s  letter  to  the  Emperor  was 
honorably  received  , by  Kweiliang,  the  highest  official  in 
the  Empire,  but  an  Imperial  audience  was  refused,  and 
the  exchange  of  ratified  treaties  was  relegated  to  Peh- 
tang,  the  town  on  the  seacoast  where  the  party  had 
landed. 

Mr.  Ward  was  ridiculed  and  even  reviled  by  his  com- 
patriots as  well  as  by  Europeans,  for  the  visit  to  Peking 
and  its  apparent  failure.  But  he  was  right ; in  some 
senses  it  may  even  be  said  that  he  accomplished  more  by 
the  exercise  of  patience  under  peculiar  provocation,  and 
without  the  support  of  armed  force,  than  the  allies  and 
their  military  array.  His  refusal  to  perform  the  kotow 
meant  to  the  Chinese  a refusal  to  acknowledge  the 
sacrosanct  character  of  the  imperial  ruler,  and  conse- 
quently the  supremacy  of  the  Chinese  Emperor  over 
other  sovereigns.  Even  when,  as  they  were  made  aware 
of  the  material  strength  of  Western  nations,  they  re- 
luctantly conceded  the  equality  of  the  Treaty  Powers,  the 
Chinese  officials  declared  that  they  would  perform  the 
kotow  and  even  burn  incense  before  foreign  sovereigns 
abroad  as  testifying  to  their  conviction  of  the  divinity 
of  a ruler’s  person.  “ It  is  the  same  reverence  that  we 
pay  to  the  gods,”  said  one  of  them,  and  after  such  wit- 
ness to  the  religious  character  of  the  homage  demanded, 
one  may  comprehend  the  abyss  which  separated  the  East 
from  the  West  in  this  commencement  of  their  diplomatic 
intercourse.  It  is  the  duty  as  well  as  the  right  of  a 
nation  to  defend  its  honor;  in  acknowledging  this,  while 
refusing  to  compromise  the  dignity  of  a Christian 


THE  UNITED  STATES  AND  CHINA  59 


plenipotentiary,  Mr.  Ward  established  a precedent,  under 
circumstances  which  seemed  at  the  moment  to  involve 
him  in  grave  personal  risk,  that  reflects  great  credit  upon 
his  competence  and  temper.* 

The  second  period  of  China’s  political  education  on  the 
part  of  the  West  ends  with  the  Anglo-French  expedition 
of  i860,  in  which  America  had  no  share.  This  cam- 
paign avenged  the  disaster  at  the  Taku  Forts,  and  estab- 
lished the  right  of  permanent  diplomatic  residence  in 
Peking,  as  an  effectual  guarantee  of  official  intercourse 
upon  terms  of  equality.  The  instrument  of  this  inter- 
course was  the  Tsung-li  Yamen,  or  Bureau  of  Foreign 
Affairs,  in  which,  after  the  death  of  the  Emperor  Hsien- 
fung  the  same  year.  Prince  Kung  and  Wensiang  were 
the  controlling  spirits  guiding  China  along  her  difficult 
path.  The  American  envoy  who  reached  China  to  take 
up  diplomatic  relations  under  the  new  conditions,  found 
at  first  little  sympathy  or  support  from  the  ministers  of 
other  nations  who  were  entering  their  new  legations  at 
the  same  time.  There  was  a general  disposition,  not  yet 
wholly  dissipated,  to  assume  that  Asiatics  understand 
only  the  argument  of  force,  and  to  consider  that  Mr. 
Ward  had  discredited  his  country  by  a tactical  error  in 
returning  from  the  capital  without  exchanging  ratifica- 
tions. The  man  who  took  up  the  diplomatic  work  at 
this  juncture  had,  in  addition  to  the  repugnance  of  the 
Chinese,  to  face  the  critical  attitude  of  Europeans  in 

* U.  S.  Senate  Ex.  Doc.  36th  Congr.,  ist  Ses.,  No.  30,  pp. 
569-624.  S.  W.  Williams,  Narrative  of  the  American  Embassy 
to  Peking,  Jour.  China  Br.  R.  A.  Soc.,  Vol.  I,  1859.  W.  A, 
P.  Martin,  Cycle  of  Cathay,  1896,  pp.  143-203.  Gen.  Foster, 
American  Diplomacy  in  the  Orient,  p.  252,  while  declaring  that 
Ward  “bore  himself  with  dignity  and  self-possession”  con- 
siders his  treatment  at  Peking  an  affront  to  himself  and  his 
country.  It  does  not  appear  that  the  Chinese  intended  it  to 
be  so. 


6o 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


China.  It  was  not  a delightful  prospect.  Fortunately, 
not  only  for  America  but  for  China,  this  minister  proved 
himself  to  be  possessed  of  a temperament  that  accepted 
without  prejudice  the  idea  of  including  men  of  all  races 
and  colors  in  the  common  family  of  civilized  nations. 
This  was  Anson  Burlingame,  whose  presence  in  Peking 
at  this  crisis  might  .fairly  be  considered  providential.  At 
a moment  when  the  Imperial  Court  was  in  terror  of 
further  aggression  from  abroad  and  rebellion  at  home, 
and  foreign  merchants  clamored  for  unwarrantable 
liberties  in  trade,  he  made  it  clear  to  the  Tsung-li  Yamen 
that  his  government  opposed  on  principle  any  policy  of 
spoliation  toward  China,  and  called  the  attention  of 
foreigners  to  the  grave  dangers  attending  illegal  attempts 
to  exploit  China  for  selfish  aims.  His  idea  was  essen- 
tially the  same  as  the  “ open  door  ” policy  of  America 
announced  forty  years  later.  As  a result  of  the  friendly 
impression  he  produced  upon  the  Chinese  authorities,  he 
was  asked,  upon  his  resignation  after  six  years,  to  become 
the  head  of  a Chinese  embassy  to  all  the  Treaty  Powers — 
a remarkable  instance  of  the  power  of  sympathy  and 
cordiality. 

The  appearance  of  Anson  Burlingame  upon  the  arena 
of  Asiatic  politics  was,  and  long  remained,  a subject  of 
conventional  pleasantry  among  Europeans  unacquainted 
with  certain  types  of  American  character.  His  friendli- 
ness and  optimism,  shown  alike  to  Caucasians  and 
Asiatics,  were  held  by  those  accustomed  to  old-fashioned 
methods  in  diplomacy,  as  too  good  to  be  true.  Presently, 
however,  his  sincerity  so  impressed  those  who  came  inti- 
mately into  contact  with  him  that  he  was  able  to  influence 
his  diplomatic  colleagues  in  Peking  to  accede  to  his 
“ policy  of  co-operation,”  in  further  dealing  with  the 
government  of  China.  This,  and  the  policy  inaugurated 
by  Great  Britain,  of  holding  the  Imperial  authority  and 


THE  UNITED  STATES  AND  CHINA  6i 


not  local  governors  responsible  for  observance  of  treaties, 
may  be  called,  perhaps  without  exaggeration,  the  turning 
point  in  China’s  foreign  relations.  It  meant  a substitu- 
tion of  fair  dealing  for  sheer  force.  As  the  most  im- 
portant contribution  of  an  American  at  this  time  toward 
a solution  of  the  political  complexities  which  confronted 
alike  all  civilized  nations,  it  deserves  an  explanation  in 
his  own  words: 

“ It  was  not  (he  declares  in  his  first  speech  made  after 
landing  in  California  in  May,  1868),  until  recently,  that 
the  West  was  in  proper  relations  with  that  empire 
[China].  Affairs  went  on  upon  a system  of  misunder- 
standing, resulting  in  mutual  misfortune,  down  till  i860, 
when  the  representatives  of  the  Treaty  Powers  met  with 
the  great  men  who  carry  on  the  affairs  of  the  Chinese 
Empire.  Coming  into  personal  relations  with  them,  they 
had  occasion  to  modify  their  views  as  to  the  capacity 
and  as  to  the  intentions  of  these  men.  And  they  were 
led  straightway  to  consider  the  question : How  should 

they  substitute  for  the  old,  false  system  of  affairs,  one 
of  fair  diplomatic  action?  They  addressed  themselves 
fairly  to  the  discussion  of  that  question ; and  that  dis- 
cussion resulted  in  the  adoption  of  what  is  called  the  ‘ co- 
operative policy.’  That  policy  is  briefly  this : An  agree- 
ment on  the  part  of  the  Treaty  Powers  to  act  together  on 
all  material  questions ; to  stand  together  in  defense  of 
their  treaty  rights,  but  determined  at  the  same  time  to 
give  those  treaties  a generous  construction;  determined 
to  maintain  the  foreign  system  of  customs,  and  to  sup- 
port it  in  a pure  administration  and  upon  a cosmopolitan 
basis;  an  agreement  to  take  no  cession  of  territory  at 
the  treaty  ports,  and  never  to  menace  the  Territorial  In- 
tegrity of  China.”  * 

It  is  as  unfair  to  measure  the  real  significance  of  the 

* Official  Papers  of  the  Chinese  Legation,  Berlin,  1870,  p.  4. 


62 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


Burlingame  mission  to  the  Treaty  Powers  by  its  im- 
mediate results,  as  it  would  be  to  estimate  the  extraordi- 
nary ability  of  its  leader  by  the  newspaper  ridicule  which 
followed  his  optimistic  speeches.  In  some  respects  the 
Europeans  were  as  blind  to  the  crisis  in  China’s  affairs 
as  she  was  to  their  theories  of  statecraft.  China  had 
just  passed,  in  the  .Taiping  uprising,  through  the  most 
alarming  social  disturbance  that  the  Empire  had  known 
since  the  coming  of  the  Manchus.  The  Arrow  War 
had  been  sprung  upon  her  in  her  emergency,  yet  she  had 
been  saved  as  by  a miracle  from  the  terror  without,  and 
these  same  “ barbarians  ” who  had  attacked  her  with 
such  a shameless  lack  of  justification,  had  afterwards 
both  refused  to  recognize  the  Rebels,  and  later  had 
countenanced  the  equipment  of  the  Ever  Victorious  Force 
under  Western  officers  and  drill.  This  force,  first  en- 
listed by  the  American,  Frederick  E.  Ward,  and  subse- 
quently made  famous  by  General  Gordon,  materially 
hastened  the  conclusion  of  the  rebellion,  though  it  is  idle 
now  to  repeat  the  claim  made  by  most  accounts  published 
in  English  that  this  result  was  accomplished  by  its  un- 
aided efforts.  Certainly  the  motive  promoting  the  mis- 
sion was  a hope  on  the  part  of  a few  Chinese  statesmen 
that  the  West  might  listen  to  an  appeal  for  patience  and 
fair  play,  and  the  hope  was  as  surely  instilled  by  the 
magnetic  influence  of  a man  whose  humanity  was  in- 
vincible— “a  power  (as  Mr.  Blaine  described  it)  growing 
out  of  a mysterious  gift,  partly  intellectual,  partly  spirit- 
ual, and  largely  physical.”  Behind  this  personality  was, 
happily,  the  good  will  already  accruing  to  a Western 
Government,  disavowing  all  territorial  ambitions  in 
China,  and  not  herself  an  object,  at  this  time,  of  jealousy 
among  European  powers. 

Unfortunately  death  cut  short  in  its  prime  a brilliant 
career.  Mr.  Burlingame  died  in  St.  Petersburg  before 


THE  UNITED  STATES  AND  CHINA  63 


accomplishing  his  tour  through  the  chief  European 
capitals,  or  being  able  to  use  his  wonderful  influence 
upon  the  palace  officials  after  returning  to  Peking. 
China  lost  in  him  her  only  helper. 

The  text  of  the  Burlingame  Treaty  is  easily  accessible 
and,  as  it  became  in  time  the  object  of  some  contumely, 
I might  almost  add,  too  well  known  to  need  quotation 
in  full.  Its  eight  articles,  drafted  by  Secretary  Seward, 

( 1 ) recognize  China’s  right  of  eminent  domain  over  all 
her  territory,  even  where  occupied  by  foreign  traders ; 

(2)  concede  her  sole  control  over  inland  navigation;  (3) 
give  a right  to  appoint  consuls  to  American  ports;  (4) 
grant  protection  to  foreign  religions  and  cemeteries; 
(5)  endorse  naturalization  rights  and  forbid  the  coolie 
trade;  (6)  give  reciprocal  rights  of  travel  and  residence 
to  citizens  of  each  party  in  the  country  of  the  other;  (7) 
open  all  schools  in  each  country  to  children  of  either 
nationality;  and  (8)  acknowledge  the  right  of  the  Em- 
peror to  make  internal  improvements  unobstructed  by 
foreign  interference. 

As  it  is  the  underlying  idea  of  this  compact  that  con- 
cerns us  just  now,  rather  than  its  treatment  by  its 
enemies,  we  may  as  well  hear  it  expounded  by  Mr.  Bur- 
lingame himself: 

“ In  the  first  place,  it  declares  the  neutrality  of  the 
Chinese  waters  in  opposition  to  the  pretensions  of  the  ex- 
territoriality doctrine,  that  inasmuch  as  the  persons  and 
the  property  of  the  people  of  the  foreign  powers  were 
under  the  jurisdiction  of  those  powers,  therefore  it  was 
the  right  of  parties  contending  with  each  other  to  attack 
each  other  in  the  Chinese  waters,  thus  making  those 
waters  the  place  of  their  conflict.  This  treaty  traverses 
all  such  absurd  pretensions.  It  strikes  down  the  so- 
called  concession  doctrines,  under  which  the  nationals 
of  different  countries  located  upon  spots  of  land  in  the 


64 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


treaty  ports,  had  come  to  believe  that  they  could  take 
jurisdiction  there  not  only  of  their  own  nationals,  not 
only  of  the  persons  and  property  of  their  own  people, 
but  take  jurisdiction  of  the  Chinese  and  the  people  of 
other  countries.  When  this  question  was  called  under 
discussion  and  referred  to  the  home  governments,  not  by 
the  Chinese  originally,  but  by  those  foreign  nations  that 
felt  that  their  treaty  rights  were  being  abridged  by  these 
concession  doctrines,  the  distant  foreign  countries  could 
not  stand  the  discussion  for  a moment.  And  I aver  that 
every  Treaty  Power  has  abandoned  the  concession  doc- 
trines, though  some  of  their  officials  in  China  at  the 
present  time  undertake  to  contend  for  them,  undertake 
to  expel  the  Chinese,  to  attack  the  Chinese,  to  protect 
the  Chinese,  although  the  territory  did  not  belong  to 
them.  China  has  never  abandoned  her  eminent  domain, 
never  abandoned  on  that  territory  her  jurisdiction;  and 
I trust  she  never  will. 

“ Again,  this  treaty  recognizes  China  as  an  equal 
among  the  nations,  in  opposition  to  the  old  doctrine  that 
because  she  was  not  a Christian  nation,  she  could  not  be 
placed  in  the  roll  of  nations.  . . . 

“ There  is  another  article  which  is  also  important  to 
China.  It  has  been  the  habit  of  the  foreigners  in  China 
to  lecture  the  Chinese  and  to  say  what  they  should  do  and 
what  they  should  not  do;  in  fact,  to  prefer  almost  a de- 
mand, and  say  when  they  should  build  railways,  when 
they  should  build  telegraphs ; and,  in  fact,  there  has  been 
an  attempt  to  take  entire  possession  of  their  affairs. 
This  treaty  denounces  all  such  pretensions.  It  says 
particularly  that  it  is  for  the  Chinese  themselves  to  deter- 
mine when  they  will  initiate  reforms — when  they  will 
build  and  when  they  will  refuse  to  build — that  they  are 
the  masters  of  their  own  affairs ; that  it  is  for  them  to 
make  commercial  regulations,  and  to  do  whatever  they 


THE  UNITED  STATES  AND  CHINA  65 


will,  which  is  not  in  violation  of  the  laws  of  nations, 
within  their  own  territory.  I am  glad  to  say  that  is 
in  the  treaty ; and  while  the  treaty  expresses  the  opinion 
of  the  United  States  in  favor  of  giving  to  China  the 
control  of  her  own  affairs,  it  assumes  that  China  is  to 
progress,  and  it  offers  to  her  all  the  resources  of  Western 
science,  and  asks  other  nations  to  do  the  same.  The 
United  States  have  asked  nothing  for  themselves.  I am 
proud  of  it.  I am  proud  that  this  country  has  made  a 
treaty  which  is,  every  line  of  it,  in  the  present  interests 
of  China,  though  in  the  resulting  interests  of  all  man- 
kind. ...  I know  this  treaty  will  be  attacked:  you 
will  wonder  at  it.  It  will  be  attacked  by  the  spirit  of  the 
old  indigo  planters  in  India ; resisted  by  the  spirit  of  the 
old  opium  smuggler  in  China.  But  notwithstanding  all 
this,  I believe  that  treaty  or  the  principles  of  that  treaty 
will  make  the  tour  of  the  world,  because  it  is  founded  in 
right,  it  is  founded  in  justice.”  ® 

If  true  statesmanship  is  loyalty  to  right  and  justice,  the 
man  who  stood  for  this  treaty  was  a statesman,  if  not  a 
master  politician.  Politicians  on  our  Pacific  seaboard 
and  elsewhere  arose  to  revile,  but  in  forty  years  we,  as 
a nation,  have  come  to  see  that  the  prospection  of  a Bur- 
lingame based  upon  eternal  principles  of  righteousness, 
discerned  the  true  policy  to  be  pursued  toward  China. 
With  the  passing  of  the  sanguine  ambassador,  however, 
there  came  a change  in  the  demeanor  of  America. 
Professor  Mayo-Smith  justly  observes  in  this  treaty  the 
parting  of  the  way  between  our  previous  and  subsequent 
attitude  toward  China; 

“ This  treaty  of  1868  marks  the  dividing  line  between 
two  distinct  and  contradictory  policies  on  the  part  of  the 
United  States  toward  the  Chinese.  Up  to  that  time  our 

® Speech  in  Boston,  Aug.  21,  1868.  Offic.  Papers  of  the  Chi. 
Leg.,  Berlin,  1870,  p.  38. 


66 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


efforts  had  been  directed  toward  compelling  the  Chinese 
to  admit  Americans  to  China  for  the  pursuit  of  trade 
and  commerce.  In  this  contention,  we  placed  ourselves 
on  the  broad  platform  of  the  right  of  free  migration 
and  the  duty  of  international  intercourse.  Shortly  after 
this  declaration,  we  found  that  the  influx  of  Chinese  into 
this  country  was  causing  us  inconvenience,  and  we  im- 
mediately turned  our  backs  on  the  principle  of  free  migra- 
tion, and  passed  laws  excluding  the  Chinese  as  effectually 
as  they  had  ever  excluded  foreigners.”  ® 

California  at  the  time  of  the  Burlingame  mission  was 
on  the  eve  of  political  and  social  changes  which  presently 
brought  her  people  into  serious  opposition  to  its  main 
idea  of  unchecked  intercourse.  The  alteration  of  senti- 
ment toward  the  Chinese  in  the  United  States  resulting 
from  the  outcry  from  the  Pacific  Coast,  induced  a change 
of  front  which  Americans  do  not  now  greatly  enjoy  re- 
calling ; but  with  this  we  need  not  be  concerned  at  present. 
The  fact  remained,  so  far  as  the  two  nations  were  in- 
volved, that  a more  generous  policy  than  the  old  had 
been  shaped  for  China.  The  man  who  had  been  chiefly 
instrumental  in  calling  a halt  to  the  familiar  plan  of 
aggravation  and  reprisal,  was  an  American,  and  Amer- 
icans were  thereafter  believed  by  the  more  enlightened 
Chinese  in  Peking,  to  be  in  some  way  sponsors  for  the 
recall  of  China  into  the  list  of  independent  states.  That 
we  did  not  stultify  ourselves  before  the  Chinese  as  a re- 
sult of  our  treatment  of  their  immigrants  into  this 
country  in  the  decade  following  the  treaty  of  1868,  was 
due  chiefly,  of  course,  to  their  general  ignorance  of  events 
outside  of  their  own  domain,  and  their  indifference  to  the 
fate  of  subjects  leaving  the  Empire.  Some  grace,  more- 

* Emigration  and  Immigration,  N.  Y.,  1895,  p.  229.  The  Bur- 
lingame treaty  was  not  ratified  by  China  until  sixteen  months 
after  it  secured  the  approval  of  the  Senate. 


THE  UNITED  STATES  AND  CHINA  67 


over,  w'as  given  us  from  the  rather  melancholy  fact  which 
remained  true  in  those  evil  days,  that  Americans  were,  on 
the  whole,  the  least  contemptuous  and  truculent  of  the 
foreigners  in  China.  The  merchants  of  other  countries 
there  wanted  radical  changes  and  were  unwilling  to  give 
anything  in  return.  They  both  despised  and  mistrusted 
the  Chinese,  and  frankly  advocated  the  substitution  of 
brute  force  for  diplomacy.  As  to  the  generous  faith  of 
Burlingame,  “ All  who  are  conversant  with  China,  they 
’wrote,  regard  Mr.  Burlingame’s  mission  as  suspicious  in 
its  origin,  mischievous  in  its  progress,  and  likely  in  its 
results  to  prove  disastrous  to  all  countries  connected  for 
commercial  purposes  with  China.”  ^ Their  opposition  in 
the  ended  decided  the  British  Government  to  refuse  to 
ratify  the  Alcock  Convention  of  1869,  revising  the  treaty 
of  Tientsin.®  The  discussions  involved  in  negotiating 
this  document  are  of  interest  as  revealing  the  chief  de- 
sires of  the  Chinese  to  restore  their  national  prestige ; 
these  were  abolition  of  extra-territorial  privileges,  pro- 
hibition of  opium,  and  the  withdrawal  of  missionaries 
from  the  interior.  To  gain  these  points,  or  even  to  ad- 
vance them,  they  were  willing  to  promise  much  to  the 
foreigners,  but  so  long  as  European  traders  maintained 
the  attitude  of  vce  victis,  any  advantages  to  be  hoped  for 
from  compromises  were  lost. 

But  vicious  merchants  were  not  the  only  cause  of 
shipwreck  of  a more  merciful  political  idea.  The  Tien- 
tsin massacre  of  1870  showed  that  the  dual  nature  of  the 
Chinese  Government,  involving  different  aims  of  a central 

^ Pari.  Papers,  Ixxiii,  Memorials  of  Chambers  of  Commerce 
in  China,  1867-68. 

* Pari.  Papers,  Ixix  and  Ixx,  1870  and  1871,  Treaty  of  Tien- 
tsin, and  Correspondence  respecting  the  Revision,  summarized 
in  A.  J.  Sargent,  Anglo-Chinese  Commerce  and  Diplomacy, 
Oxford,  1907,  pp.  152-175. 


68 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


and  a local  authority  had  been  left  untouched  by  the  new 
diplomacy.  There  were,  in  fact,  even  greater  difficulties 
in  the  way  of  overcoming  prejudice  against  aliens  in 
China  than  in  California.  The  massacre  itself  was  of  a 
sort  which  has  become  pretty  familiar  in  the  East ; a 
credulous  and  fearful  community  hounded  on  to  pillage 
and  murder  by  agents  who  remained  concealed,  a local 
administration  desirous  for  its  own  ends  of  hiding  the 
real  culprits,  and  back-stairs  influence  with  the  Palace 
impeding  the  efforts  of  the  Government  officials  to  meet 
the  inevitable  demands  of  the  outraged  foreigners.  In 
the  old  days  before  official  China  recognized  its  obliga- 
tions to  foreign  governments,  it  had  been  necessary  to 
summarily  punish  breaches  of  treaty  by  using  force 
against  its  immediate  offenders.  Thus  foreigners  had 
got  to  disregard  the  Imperial  authority,  and  expect  un- 
due advantage  from  exercise  of  the  “ gun-boat  policy,” 
after  the  manner  of  . extra  dividends  declared  on  highly 
speculative  stocks.  By  the  creation  of  the  Tsung-li 
Yamen,  however,  China  had  expressly  recognized  its 
political  responsibilities.  It  then  became  properly  the 
aim  of  foreign  powers  to  strengthen  the  central  authority. 
They  had  to  do  so  in  the  face  of  the  claims  of  their  own 
nationals  with  selfish  ambitions.  The  new  phase  of 
political  relationships  was  unpopular  with  the  traders  in 
proportion  as  they  had  made  use  of  their  unfair  advan- 
tages in  encountering  native  competitors.®  Hence  arose 

® Consul  Alcock  draws  a striking  picture  of  the  foreign  com- 
munity in  China  in  the  sixties.  “ The  worthless  character  of 
a numerous  gathering  of  foreigners  of  all  nations,  under  no 
effective  control,  is  a national  reproach  as  well  as  a public 
calamity.  They  dispute  the  field  of  commerce  with  honester 
men,  and  convert  privileges  of  access  and  trade  into  means  of 
fraud  and  violence.  In  this  career  of  license,  unchecked  by  any 
fear  of  their  own  governments,  and  protected  in  a great  de- 
gree by  treaties  from  the  action  of  the  native  authorities,  the 


THE  UNITED  STATES  AND  CHINA  6o 


a factor  which,  though  negative  in  its  operation,  may  be 
called  one  of  some  effectiveness  in  defining  American 
policy  in  China.  Immediately  after  the  opening  of 
Peking,  America,  being  plunged  in  a civil  war,  had  no 
forces  at  her  disposal  to  exert  pressure  upon  the  Chinese. 
If  there  was  to  be  international  competition  for  trade 
supremacy  in  the  East  upon  the  basis  of  superior  armed 
force  she  was  hopelessly  discounted.  She  had  therefore 
everything  to  gain  from  a policy  of  supporting  a supreme 
Imperial  authority  to  be  held  responsible  for  the  acts  of 
subordinates,  and  from  inducing  her  colleagues  to  do 
likewise.  Her  argument  to  Great  Britain  did  not  need 
to  be  a selfish  one,  nor  was  it  a mere  appeal  to  friendly 
consideration.  The  end  of  a policy  of  pin-pricks  and 
persistent  demands  for  more  concessions  was  inevitably 
war  and  the  disintegration  of  China.  If  a weak  China 
involved  the  precipitation  of  a new  Eastern  Question, 
England  with  her  responsibilities  elsewhere  was  bound 
to  be  among  the  first  to  prevent  the  incalculable  damage 
which  might  be  expected  from  such  a result.  The  co- 
operation of  Russia  and  France  followed,  chiefly  because 
Russia  was  content  for  the  time  in  building  Vladivostok, 
and  France  after  1870  was  practically  eliminated  from 
the  galax}'  of  predatory  powers.  In  this  review  it  be- 
comes evident  at  once  that  support  of  the  Imperial  au- 
thority in  the  Taiping  uprising  was  most  logically 
forced  upon  the  chief  foreign  representatives  in  China, 
and  that,  in  general,  Burlingame’s  plan  of  saving  China 
was  recognized  as  the  only  one  consistent  with  the  com- 
mon safety  of  all  concerned. 

Chinese  are  the  first  and  greatest,  but  by  no  means  the  only 
sufferers.  There  is  no  government  or  nation  of  the  great  Euro- 
pean family  that  does  not  suffer  in  character,  and  in  so  far  as 
they  have  any  interests  at  stake  in  China,  in  these  also  both 
Immediately  and  prospectively.” 


70 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


The  chief  blemish  in  the  conduct  of  American  rela- 
tions with  China  is,  of  course,  our  treatment  of  her  sub- 
jects in  the  United  States.  I have  no  excuse  or  palliation 
to  offer  for  conduct  in  which  our  national  honor  has  been 
compromised  for  the  sake  of  a group  of  unscrupulous 
politicians  in  the  Pacific  Coast  States,  but  it  is  at  the  same 
time  true  that  to  our  previous  fairness  toward  China  has 
been  due  her  patience  under  indignities  received  at  our 
hands.  Unhappily  for  our  own  credit,  it  is  now  evident 
that  as  a people,  we  spoiled  our  case  with  China  by  mere 
blundering.  Had  political  societies  and  State  legisla- 
tures been  sufficiently  far-sighted  to  restrain  their  im- 
patience in  the  presence  of  a supposed  menace  of  in- 
vasion by  Chinese  workmen,  it  would  at  any  moment 
have  been  possible  to  adjust  the  matter  of  Chinese  im- 
migration with  the  Government  in  Peking.  As  it  was, 
we  placed  ourselves  in  the  wrong,  violating  our  treaty 
stipulations  while  insisting  that  China  should  fulfill  hers. 
In  spite,  nevertheless,  of  just  causes  for  resentment,  the 
Chinese  authorities,  mindful  of  past  mercies,  have  acquit- 
ted themselves  with  decorum  and  conceded  to  us  the 
further  restrictions  demanded  of  them.  Their  conduct 
is  a notable  instance  of  the  political  value  of  long-con- 
tinued friendly  relations  when  unexpected  circumstances 
may  suddenly  threaten  to  overturn  them. 

I shall  attempt  nothing  more  here  than  a cursory  notice 
of  some  features  of  this  unpleasant  subject.  After  some 
radical  legislation  proposed  in  Congress  in  open  disre- 
gard of  international  law  had  aroused  the  better  senti- 
ment of  the  American  people,  as  shown  in  the  endorse- 
ment of  President  Hayes’  action  vetoing  the  Fifteen 
Passenger  bill  of  1879,  some  modification  was  confessedly 
necessary  in  the  Burlingame  treaty.  To  effect  this  the 
Angell  commission  was  sent  to  Peking  in  1880  to  nego- 
tiate certain  changed  provisions.  So  delicate  was  the 


THE  UNITED  STATES  AND  CHINA  71 


political  situation  at  home  at  this  time  that  the  com- 
mission actually  arrived  in  China  without  any  specific 
instructions  as  to  what  these  changes  should  comprise.'® 
At  the  end  of  the  negotiations  these  gentlemen  procured 
the  consent  of  the  Chinese  Government  to  clauses  en- 
abling the  President  and  Congress  to  limit  or  suspend 
the  immigration  of  Chinese  artisans  and  laborers  into 
America  for  a reasonable  period  w'henever  they  thought 
necessary.  “ Reasonable  ” was  afterwards  taken  to  mean 
about  ten  years,  though  some  difference  of  opinion  was 
expressed  as  to  its  proper  interpretation.  In  the  course 
of  a few  years  both  Hayes  and  Arthur  vetoed  bills  on 
the  ground  that  twenty  years  was  a violation  of  the 
treaty.  The  success  of  this  commission  was  due  partly 
to  a desire  of  the  Chinese  Government  to  keep  its  sub- 
jects at  home  and  to  its  wish  for  American  support  in 
prohibiting  the  import  of  opium  into  China.  The  opium 
clause,  it  may  be  added  in  passing,  was  hardly  more  than 
an  expression  of  good-will  on  the  part  of  Americans  who, 
though  somew'hat  compromised  by  individual  traders,  had 
no  interest  as  a people  in  the  opium  trade ; but  it  served 
an  excellent  turn." 

During  the  course  of  the  following  decade,  gross  frauds 
in  the  return  of  Chinese  laborers  who  were  readmitted 
to  the  United  States  were  claimed  to  actually  nullify  the 
effect  of  this  treaty.  To  remedy  this  defect,  the  Chinese 
minister  at  Washington  negotiated  in  1888  a new  treaty 
restricting  the  privilege  of  return  to  Chinese  ow’ning  at 
least  $1,000  or  having  families  in  the  United  States.  In 
return  provision  was  then  made  for  an  indemnity  cover- 
ing outrages  which  had  been  committed  against  Chinese 

1®  C.  Holcombe,  The  Outlook,  April  23,  1904,  pp.  993-4. 

U.  S.  Foreign  Relations,  1881,  p.  200.  Comments  covering 
the  opium  clause  in  the  treaty  are  rather  significantly  omitted 
in  the  dispatch  of  the  Commission  as  published. 


72 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


subjects  in  Wyoming,  Tacoma  and  other  places.  Under 
pressure  from  the  Pacific  States,  in  the  subsequent  Presi- 
dential campaign  and  while  this  treaty  was  being  con- 
sidered by  the  Chinese  Government,  the  so-called  Scott 
Act  was  passed  in  Congress  prohibiting  altogether  the 
admission  of  Chinese  laborers,  a rude  violation  of  the 
treaty  conditions  which  President  Cleveland  signed, 
however,  upon  the  curious  plea  that  China  had  delayed 
too  long  in  ratifying  the  compact.  A similar  treaty  was, 
however,  more  decently  negotiated  and  ratified  in  1894 
upon  substantially  the  old  terms.  Again  a new  bill  pro- 
hibiting immigration  was  with  difficulty  defeated  in  the 
Senate  when,  as  a substitute,  the  Platt  Amendment,  con- 
tinuing in  force,  stringent  provisions  against  possible 
fraud,  provided  for  the  situation  until  a new  treaty  should 
be  negotiated  ten  years  later.  There  were  indications 
at  this  time  that  despite  impulsive  speeches  in  Congress 
and  in  the  Far  West,  sober  public  opinion  in  America 
favored  adherence  to  treaty  obligations,  while  fear  of  the 
so-called  “ Yellow  Peril  ” was  gradually  dying  away  as 
the  influx  of  Chinese  continually  decreased. *- 

Mrs.  Coolidge’s  Chinese  Immigration,  N.  Y.,  1909,  fairly 
summarizes  all  the  legislation  upon  this  matter  and  tells  the 
ignoble  story  with  sufficient  fullness  so  far  as  California  is  con- 
cerned. See  also  Chinese  and  Japanese  Immigration,  in  /I  in. 
Acad.  Pol.  and  Soc.  Science,  for  September,  1909.  Mr.  S.  W. 
Nickerson  in  the  N.  Am.  Rev.,  for  Dec.,  1908,  gives  the  follow- 
ing summary  of  administrative  tergiversation  in  one  particular: 
“ In  the  summer  of  1882,  Attorney-General  Brewster  decided 
(17  Op.  Atty.  Gen.,  416),  that  Chinese  laborers  in  transit  to  or 
from  China  and  some  other  country  could  not  lawfully  be 
transported  across  the  United  States,  and  thought  his  opinion 
not  obnoxious  to  the  imputation  of  harshness  or  inhospitality 
toward  a friendly  power.  About  six  months  later,  this  same 
official  retracted  his  first  opinion  and  came  (17  Op.  A.  G.,  483) 
to  a contrary  decision.  In  the  spring  of  1886,  Attorney-General 
Garland  decided  (Op.  A.  G.,  388)  that  the  first  opinion  was 


THE  UNITED  STATES  AND  CHINA  73 


We  come  now  to  the  great  climax  in  the  afYairs  of 
Eastern  Asia  which  arrived  with  the  close  of  the  cen- 
tury. Into  the  underlying  causes  of  the  Boxer  revolt  I 
cannot  here  enter.  The  subject  takes  us  altogether  away 
from  interests  which  are  exclusively  American  into  the 
whirlpool  of  international  politics.  Of  the  three  basic 
factors  involved  in  this  uprising,  Christianity,  com- 
merce and  politics,  the  last  only  was  really  important. 
After  the  revelation  of  China’s  military  weakness  in  the 
war  against  Japan,  Europeans  in  Asia  found  themselves 
yielding  to  the  same  temptation  to  which  they  had  been 
exposed  at  the  conclusion  of  the  Arrow  War.  But  now 
the  scale  of  operations  and  interests  was  vastly  increased. 
In  1897  began  the  series  of  seizures  of  Chinese  territory 
by  Europeans  followed  by  that  assignment  of  spheres  of 
influence  which  divided  up  practically  the  whole  area  of 
China  like  a derelict  body.  It  seemed  for  a year  or  two 
that  the  Christian  world  headed  by  Russia  and  Germany 
was  ready  to  partition  the  helpless  empire,  and  in  the 
play  of  rival  ambitions  all  remembrance  was  lost  of  the 
old  idea  of  co-operation  in  dealing  with  China.  Then 
occurred  the  dramatic  uprising  in  which  the  Chinese 
people  themselves,  driven  to  desperation,  surprised  the 
Western  world  by  their  loyalty  to  a national  idea,  blindly 
and  recklessly  exhibited  but  significant  in  its  intensity. 
The  dispatch  of  a division  of  the  American  army  to 
China  has  been  called  by  a high  authority  “ One  of  the 
correct.  In  the  summer  of  1889,  Attorney-General  Miller  de- 
cided (19  Op.  A.  G.,  369)  that  the  second  opinion  was  correct. 
Here  we  have  four  conflicting  opinions  in  the  short  space  of 
seven  years,  each  temporarily  controlling  the  attitude  of  the 
United  States  Government  as  to  the  right  of  an  humble  Chinese 
person  to  cross  our  territory  while  in  transit  from  his  native 
land.  . . . Not  until  1894  was  the  matter  put  at  rest  by 
Attorney-General  Olney  (20  Op.  A.  G.,  693).” 

IS  General  J.  W.  Foster,  American  Diplomacy  in  the  Orient,  p. 


421. 


74 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


most  extreme  acts  of  executive  authority  in  the  history 
of  the  United  States.”  But  it  was  not  a case  of  war 
against  China.^^  The  forces  were  sent  to  Peking  to  pro- 
tect American  citizens  and  their  interests  when  the  au- 
thority of  the  Chinese  Government  had  been  superseded 
by  a mob.  No  Chinese  in  authority,  so  far  as  I am  aware, 
have  yet  blamed  the  United  States  for  this  technical  vio- 
lation of  international  comity.  Their  attitude  was  for 
the  most  part  actually  favorable  to  the  presence  of  those 
foreign  troops  who  remained  at  Peking  long  enough 
after  the  siege  of  the  legations  to  prevent  anarchy  and 
the  destruction  of  all  private  property.  The  Americans 
by  their  refusal  to  enter  upon  any  of  the  punitive  expe- 
ditions, by  the  sober  conduct  of  their  soldiers  and  by  the 
removal  of  the  troops  at  the  earliest  practical  moment, 
proved  to  the  Chinese  that  their  expedition  was  in  the 
nature  of  an  action  by  constabulary,  not  in  any  sense 
an  armed  invasion. 

It  was  Secretary  Hay  of  the  United  States  who  first 
called  the  attention  of  the  powers  (July  3,  1900,)  to  the 
purpose  of  the  United  States  to  rescue  Americans  and 
then  “ Seek  a solution  which  might  bring  about  per- 
manent safety  and  peace  to  China,  preserve  its  territorial 
and  administrative  entity,  protect  all  rights  guaranteed 
by  treaty  and  international  law  and  safeguard  to  the 
world  the  principle  of  equal  and  impartial  trade  with  all 
parts  of  the  Chinese  Empire.” 

This  policy,  as  wise  as  it  was  magnanimous,  substan- 
tiated the  promise  of  Admiral  Kempff’s  refusal  to  con- 
cur in  the  action  of  his  colleagues  of  the  Allied  fleets  in 
attacking  the  Taku  Forts  on  June  17,  considering  their 
ultimatum  unjustifiable  in  public  law  and  suicidal  in 
policy.*®  With  the  Boxer  crisis  it  became  for  the  first 

“ Our  declared  aims  involved  no  war  against  the  Chinese 
nation,”  Pres.  McKinley’s  Annual  Message,  December,  1900. 

He  was  right.  Their  unwise  attack  seems  to  have  been 


THE  UNITED  STATES  AND  CHINA  75 


time  evident  to  all  that  the  politics  of  Asia  are  inextri- 
cably bound  up  in  those  of  Europe  and  the  Western  hemi- 
sphere. Mr,  Hay’s  programme  was  criticized  by  some 
of  his  countrymen  as  too  ambitious  and  too  political  to 
conform  to  our  national  traditions.  He  was  accused  of 
committing  us  to  a policy  “ impossible  of  attainment  by 
our  own  independent  action,  and  if  pursued  in  common 
with  other  powers  fraught  with  the  gravest  possibilities 
of  those  international  entanglements  with  European  na- 
tions, which  it  is  our  historic  policy  to  keep  out  of.” 
His  action  was,  however,  only  the  logical  development 
of  an  interchange  of  diplomatic  notes  during  the  previous 
September  whereby  he  secured  the  formal  agreement  of 
the  great  powers  to  the  open-door  policy  in  their  trade 
with  China.  So  far  from  involving  the  United  States 
in  international  entanglements  it  proposed  the  only  safe 
course  by  which  a world  conflict  over  distracted  China 
was  avoided.  For  herself,  indeed,  America  had  every- 
thing to  gain  and  nothing  to  lose  by  an  undivided  China, 
but  China  was  rescued  none  the  less  at  this  juncture  by 
a statesman  whose  genius  and  imagination  impelled  a 
return  to  the  Burlingame  policy  regarding  the  empire. 
Before  the  greater  menace,  when  foreign  domination, 
aggression  and  spoliation  threatened  her  political  exist- 
ence, the  lesser  grievance  arising  from  the  molestation 
of  her  subjects  in  the  United  States  faded  away  from 
China’s  estimate  of  America.^^ 

An  admirable  summary  of  American  achievement  in 

the  final  outrage  that  impelled  the  Court  to  consent  to  the  be- 
leaguering of  the  legations. 

“ China  and  Russia,”  by  Josiah  Quincy,  in  North  American 
Review,  Vol.  171,  Oct.,  1900. 

There  is  plenty  of  literature  upon  the  Boxer  uprising,  but 
none  of  it  is  of  lasting  value  to  the  historical  student  in  form- 
ing conclusions  as  to  its  causes.  Dr.  A.  H.  Smith’s  “ China 
in  Convulsion,”  2 vols.,  N.  Y.,  1901,  remains  the  best  general 
account  and  discussion.  


76 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


the  International  Conference  in  Peking  in  1900-1901  ap> 
pears  in  Mr.  Rockhill’s  report  to  his  government. 

“ Throughout  the  negotiations  [he  says]  our  object 
was  to  use  the  influence  of  our  Government  in  the  inter- 
est of  justice  and  moderation. 

“ The  twelve  demands  made  by  the  powers  on  China  may 
be  classified  under  four  principal  heads ; ( i ) Adequate 

punishment  for  the  authors  of  and  those  guilty  of  actual 
participation  in  the  anti-foreign  massacres  and  riots;  (2) 
The  adoption  of  measures  necessary  to  prevent  their  re- 
currence; (3)  The  indemnification  for  losses  sustained 
by  states  and  foreigners  through  these  riots,  and  (4) 
The  improvement  of  our  relations,  both  official  and  com- 
mercial, with  the  Chinese  Government  and  with  China 
generally. 

“ As  regards  the  punishment  of  the  responsible  authors 
and  actual  perpetrators  of  the  anti-foreign  outrages,  the 
Government  of  the  United  States,  while  insisting  that  all 
such  should  be  held  to  the  utmost  accountability,  declined 
to  determine 'in  every  case  the  nature  of  the  punishment 
to  be  inflicted,  and  maintained  that  the  Chinese  Govern- 
ment itself  should  in  all  cases  carry  them  out. 

“ As  soon  as  the  chief  culprits  had  been  punished 
. . . the  United  States  threw  the  weight  of  its  in- 

fluence on  the  side  of  moderation  and  the  prevention  of 
further  bloodshed.  To  this  it  was  mainly  due  that  the 
long  lists  of  proscription,  which  had  been  prepared  by 
the  representatives  of  the  powers,  of  Chinese^  in  the  prov- 
inces charged  with  participation  in  the  massacres  or  riots, 
were  repeatedly  revised  before  presentation  to  the  Chi- 
nese Government. 

“ While  seeking  with  the  other  powers  the  best  means 
to  prevent  the  recurrence  of  such  troubles  and  to  guard 
the  future  American  residents  in  Peking  from  such  dan- 
gers as  they  had  passed  through,  the  United  States  did 


THE  UNITED  STATES  AND  CHINA  77 


not  lend  its  support  to  any  plan  which  contemplated  either 
the  prolonged  occupation  by  foreign  troops  of  any  por- 
tions or  points  in  China  or  the  erection  of  an  interna- 
tional fort  in  the  city  of  Peking  from  which  to  carry  on 
friendly  relations  with  the  Chinese  Government.  Our 
policy  has  always  been  in  favor  of  a strong,  independent 
and  responsible  Chinese  Government,  which  can  and  will 
be  held  accountable  for  the  maintenance  of  order  and  the 
protection  of  our  citizens  and  their  rights  under  the 
treaties.  Throughout  the  negotiations  we  strictly  adhered 
to  this  just  principle,  with  results  which  have  proved 
beneficial  to  all. 

“ As  regards  the  third  point  of  the  negotiations,  the 
equitable  indemnification  of  the  various  states  for  the 
losses  and  expenses  incurred  by  them  in  China, 
and  also  the  securing  of  indemnities  to  societies,  com- 
panies and  individuals  for  their  private  losses  through 
the  anti- foreign  riots,  the  Government  of  the  United 
States  advocated  that  the  sum  total  of  these  indemnities 
should  not  exceed  a reasonable  amount,  well  within  the 
power  of  China  to  pay.  After  careful  inquiry  you 
reached  the  conclusion  that  with  her  present  resources 
and  liabilities,  China  could  not  pay  as  indemnities  to  the 
powers  more  than  two  hundred  millions  of  dollars.  The 
representative  of  the  United  States  was  instructed  ac- 
cordingly, and  he  was  further  told  that  in  the  opinion  of 
our  Government  the  amount  should  be  asked  of  China 
by  the  powers  jointly,  without  detail  or  explanation,  and 
afterwards  divided  among  them,  according  to  their  losses 
and  disbursements. 

“ Though  it  became  necessary,  after  protracted  dis- 
cussion in  the  conference,  to  accept  the  proposition  of 
the  other  powers  to  demand  of  China  the  sum  total  of 
their  losses  and  disbursements,  reaching  the  enormous 
sum  of  $333,000,000,  our  insistence  in  pressing  for  a 


78 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


much  lower  sum,  and  the  weight  of  the  arguments  ad- 
duced in  favor  of  such  a policy,  resulted  in  closing  the 
indemnities  to  be  paid  in  bonds  issued  at  par  and  bearing 
a low  rate  of  interest  (four  per  cent,  was  finally  agreed 
upon)  and  running  for  forty  years,  resulted  in  saving  a 
vast  sum  to  China,  hastened  the  evacuation  of  the  coun- 
try by  expeditionary  forces  and  the  restoration  of  order 
and  of  normal  relations  with  the  Chinese  Government. 

“ In  connection  with  the  question  of  the  indemnity, 
I should  particularly  mention  that  it  having  been  proved 
necessary  to  the  powers  in  their  search  for  revenues  ap- 
plicable to  the  service  of  the  indemnity  debt  that  the 
existing  nominal  five  per  cent,  ad  valorem  customs  tariff 
on  foreign  imports  should  be  made  an  effective  five  per 
cent,  ad  valorem,  the  United  States,  mindful  of  the 
furtherance  of  lawful  commerce  in  China  in  the  interests 
of  the  world,  declined  to  consent  to  the  above  increase 
of  the  customs  tariff  on  imports  unless  (i)  all  the 
Treaty  Powers  and  China  agreed  to  co-operate  in  the 
long-desired  improvement  of  the  water  approaches  to 
Shanghai  and  Tientsin,  and  (2)  that  specific  duties 
should  be  substituted  to  the  present  ad  valorem  ones  in 
the  tariff  on  foreign  imports.  Both  these  conditions 
were  ultimately  agreed  upon. 

“ Such,  in  brief,  has  been  the  part  played  by  the  United 
States  in  the  conference  of  Peking.  While  we  main- 
tained complete  independence,  we  were  able  to  act  har- 
moniously in  the  conference  of  powers,  the  existence  of 
which  was  so  essential  to  a prompt  and  peaceful  settle- 
ment of  the  situation,  we  retained  the  friendship  of  all 
the  negotiating  powers,  exerted  a salutary  influence  in 
the  cause  of  moderation,  humanity  and  justice,  secured 
adequate  reparation  for  wrongs  done  our  citizens,  guar- 
anties for  their  future  protection,  and  labored  success- 
fully in  the  interests  of  the  whole  world  in  the  cause  of 


THE  UNITED  STATES  AND  CHINA  79 


equal  and  impartial  trade  with  all  parts  of  the  Chinese 
Empire.” 

It  is  evident  that  in  spite  of  just  causes  of  resentment 
against  the  people  of  the  United  States,  the  Chinese  real- 
ize and  appreciate  the  value  of  a friendship  which  has 
been  honorably  proffered  and  renewed.  On  the  whole, 
as  we  have  seen,  though  we  have  sometimes  blundered, 
our  attitude  toward  China  has  been  more  friendly  in  act 
than  that  of  any  other  nation.  The  last  and  perhaps  most 
amazing  instance  of  official  stupidity  on  the  part  of  the 
United  States,  was  the  flagrant  discourtesy  shown  to 
official  representatives  of  China  at  the  time  of  the  St. 
Louis  Exposition.  The  result  of  this  has  shown  at  once 
the  increasing  sensitiveness  and  more  general  knowledge 
among  the  Chinese  people  of  affairs  outside  of  their  own 
country.  In  spite  of  denials,  it  is  perfectly  evident  now 
that  the  boycott  against  American  goods  in  China  during 
the  year  1905  was  the  direct  result  of  this  unwarrant- 
able insult.  The  merchant  gilds  chiefly  in  Shanghai  and 
Canton  instituted  a movement  to  refuse  the  use  or  pur- 
chase of  any  American  goods,  ordered  the  withdrawal 
of  children  from  schools  established  by  Americans  and 
removed  the  Chinese  servants  from  American  families. 
The  movement,  which  at  first  was  very  generally  sup- 
ported, soon  met  several  antagonistic  influences  under 
which  the  merchants  gradually  withdrew  their  support, 
while  a good  many  students  began  to  extend  it  so  as  to 
cover  a general  anti-foreign  agitation.  In  this  way,  it 
became  possible  to  enlist  the  co-operation  of  European 
representatives  against  it,  while  on  their  part  the  more 
moderate  Chinese  feared  that  the  movement  might  be- 
come the  excuse  for  a general  revolutionary  uprising. 
But  on  the  whole  this  action  of  loyal  and  democratic 

Report  of  W.  W.  Rockhill,  late  Commissioner  to  China. 
Senate  Doc.  No.  67,  57th  Congr.,  ist  Sess.,  1901. 


8o 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


China  may  be  conceded  to  have  carried  its  point.  I note 
only  two  among  several  evidences  of  this  conclusion. 
President  Roosevelt  responded  promptly  to  this  kind  of 
pressure  in  agreeing  to  certain  modifications  in  the  ad- 
ministration of  the  law.  The  American  Asiatic  Asso- 
ciation, representing  the  most  important  mercantile  in- 
terests concerned  in  the  Far  East,  offered  to  the  Presi- 
dent the  following  illuminating  statement  of  their  view 
of  our  relations  with  China : “ It  must  be  held  to  be 

unfortunate  that  these  laws  are  at  variance  with  the 
treaty  stipulations  . . . which  are  in  force  be- 

tween the  two  countries.  We  are  not  here  to  question 
the  competency  of  Congress  to  modify  the  provisions  of 
any  treaty  with  a foreign  power,  but  we  do  question  the 
expediency  of  the  Government  of  the  United  States  oc- 
cupying an  attitude  in  opposition  to  the  principle  which 
it  has  long  maintained,  that  a nation  cannot  plead  do- 
mestic legislation  as  a bar  to  the  observance  of  its  inter- 
national obligations.  In  the  judgment  of  this  delegation 
and  the  association  which  it  represents,  the  treatment 
accorded  by  the  officers  of  this  Government  to  the  exempt 
classes  of  Chinese  visiting  our  country  is  more  oppress- 
ive than  either  the  letter  or  the  spirit  of  the  law  re- 
quires.” The  boycott,  then,  was  a counterstroke  on  the 
part  of  China  against  America,  the  value  of  which  was 
clearly  appreciated  by  the  practical  Yankee.  It  came 
very  properly  at  a time  when  his  hopes  had  been  raised 
as  to  the  increase  of  a commerce  which  has  not  yet  nearly 
reached  the  figure  of  his  expectations.  It  has,  to  use  a use- 
ful every-day  expression,  “ taught  him  some  sense,”  and 
undoubtedly  inspired  in  his  breast  a new  and  higher  ap- 
preciation of  Chinese  character.  But  while  it  has  served 
the  purpose  in  this  country  of  ” awakening  both  public 

Editorial  in  Journal  of  the  American  Asiatic  Association, 
July,  1905,  p.  162.  See  also  T.  W.  Chang’s  article  in  the  Review 
of  Reviews,  Vol.  33,  p.  424. 


THE  UNITED  STATES  AND  CHINA  8i 


and  official  sentiment  to  the  magnitude  of  our  interests 
in  the  Chinese  Empire  and  to  the  folly  of  trifling  with 
them,”  it  has  developed  a feeling  of  union  in  the  hearts 
of  the  Chinese  people  and  shown  the  Imperial  Govern- 
ment that  where  the  honor  of  the  country  was  concerned 
it  might  depend  upon  the  support  of  the  nation.  Most 
happily  America  has  since  this  incident  justified  her  repu- 
tation and  given  fresh  indication  of  her  intention  for  the 
future  by  returning  the  yet  unpaid  portion  of  about  six- 
teen millions  of  indemnity  money  due  her.  It  is  adequate 
proof  that  she  proposes  to  abide  by  her  own  high  tra- 
ditions of  generosity  toward  China,  a policy  which,  we 
must  believe,  is  to  be  continued  under  a President  who, 
to  noble  principles,  adds  a broad  and  intimate  knowledge 
of  Far  Eastern  problems. 

“ I am  not  one  of  those,”  Mr.  Taft  declares  in  his  now 
famous  speech  of  October,  1907,  in  Shanghai,  “ who  view 
with  alarm  the  effect  of  the  growth  of  China  with  her 
teeming  millions  into  a great  industrial  empire.  I be- 
lieve that  this  instead  of  injuring  foreign  trade  with 
China  would  greatly  increase  it,  and  while  it  might  change 
its  character  in  some  respects,  it  would  not  diminish  its 
profit.  A trade  which  depends  for  its  profit  on  the  back- 
wardness of  a people  in  developing  their  own  resources 
and  upon  their  inability  to  value  at  the  proper  relative 
prices  that  which  they  have  to  sell  and  that  which  they 
have  to  buy  is  not  one  which  can  be  counted  upon  as 
stable  or  permanent.” 

This  is  palpably  a call  to  return  to  the  economic  po- 
sition of  the  United  States  in  relation  to  the  Chinese  trade 
a century  ago,  when  American  ships  created  a thriving 
traffic  there  despite  the  monopolies  long  maintained  by 
Europeans,  winning  such  successes  as  came  to  them 
without  fear  or  favor.  The  merchant  of  to-morrow  can 
conduct  his  operations  wdth  no  apprehensions  as  to  the 
safety  of  his  person  or  diminution  of  his  profits  through 


82 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


a system  of  enforced  bribery;  the  scale  of  transactions 
will  in  future  be  enormously  enlarged;  a great  empire 
will  be  encouraged  and  assisted  to  develop  her  own  abun- 
dant resources ; but  the  “ open  door  ” of  the  twentieth 
century  is  in  all  essential  respects  the  same  objective 
that  was  desired  by  our  countrymen  who  first  sailed 
around  the  Cape  to  compete  in  a world  market  without 
expectation  of  support  from  naval  forces  behind  them. 

In  the  hundred  years  since  that  intercourse  began  we 
have  refused  to  yield  to  the  temptation  presented  by  mili- 
tary weakness  unexpectedly  exposed.  We  have  steadily 
refrained  from  coercing  a helpless  people  ourselves, 
though  we  have  not  denied  to  others  their  right  to  de- 
fend their  commercial  and  political  interests  by  stern 
measures,  nor  have  we  shown  any  quixotic  reluctance  to 
reap  from  these  measures  the  benefits  that  accrued  to  all. 
We  have  accepted  no  cessions  of  territory,  even  at  the 
treaty  ports.  We  have  never  menaced  the  territorial  in- 
tegrity of  China  and  have  been  among  the  foremost  in 
upholding  her  sovereign  right  to  her  own  soil.  How- 
ever fatuous  and  unfair  our  treatment  of  Chinese  in 
America,  it  cannot  be  denied  that  we  have  endeavored  to 
treat  the  Chinese  Empire  as  honorably  as  other  coun- 
tries and  have  consistently  desired  to  include  men  of 
every  race  and  color  in  the  great  family  of  nations  so 
soon  as  they  could  prove  their  birthright  by  the  plain 
tests  of  morality  and  culture.  And,  finally,  we  have  de- 
clined at  all  times  to  force  upon  an  unwilling  people  our 
scientific  and  economic  methods  of  industry  or  transporta- 
tion, or  to  take  possession  of  their  affairs  in  the  proud 
and  selfish  conviction  that  we  could  manage  them  better 
than  they  could  themselves.  In  policy,  if  not  always  in 
performance,  America  in  her  relations  with  China  has 
tried  fairly  to  maintain  the  high  ideals  of  a Christian 
nation. 


IV 


THE  NEED  OF  A DISTINCTIVE  AMERICAN 
POLICY  IN  CHINA 

The  development  of  China’s  political  and  commercial 
relations  with  other  nations  to  their  present  status  has 
been  a gradual  evolution,  involving  a constant  modifica- 
tion of  conditions  and  consequent  alteration  of  the 
broader  motives  which  have  influenced  its  course.  The 
question  has  two  major  viewpoints — the  point  of  view  of 
China,  and  that  of  nations  which  are  concerned  with  her 
fate ; but  both  are  focused  upon  the  same  issues,  include 
the  same  propositions,  and  must  conform  to  the  onward 
march  of  civilization. 

The  early  relations  of  Western  nations  with  China  are 
remarkable  for  uniformity  of  theses.  They  had  the  gen- 
eral purposes  of  extending  to  this  Empire  the  Christian 
religion,  of  opening  it  to  foreign  trade,  and  of  bringing  it 
within  the  modern  comity  of  nations.  It  was  felt  that  these 
were  objects  wherein  all  Christian  nations  are  in  accord, 
and  whose  accomplishment  would  benefit  China  as  well 
as  the  world.  That  their  prosecution  was  from  time  to 
time  accompanied  by  international  jealousies  and  bick- 
erings merely  intimates  the  frailty  of  human  nature. 
They  were  not  due  to  any  radical  divergence  of  national 
policy.  In  the  course  of  time  this  condition  changed. 
Western  statesmanship  began  to  perceive  the  strength  of 
the  new  forces  which  Oriental  participation  was  inject- 
ing into  world  politics.  Western  relations  with  China  be- 
came less  abstract.  The  evolution  and  rise  of  Japan  con- 
tributed a striking  object  lesson.  Suddenly,  in  a time 

83 


84 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


measuring  hardly  more  than  a decade,  the  issue  of  the 
fate  of  China  has  developed  from  an  academic  to  a prac- 
tical question  in  the  field  of  international  affairs,  until 
to-day  there  is  none  of  the  so-called  major  powers  which 
does  not  accord  it  a place  of  primary  importance.  It  is 
not  exaggerating  to  say  that  issues  focused  upon  the  fate 
of  China  constitute  the  greatest  international  problem 
with  which  the  world  now  has  to  deal. 

The  reaction  of  this  condition  upon  the  relations  of 
foreign  powers  to  China  has  brought  into  play  new  forces, 
created  new'^  ambitions  and  designs,  fomented  interna- 
tional rivalries  hitherto  unforeseen  and  unsuspected,  and 
by  consequence  we  find  fresh  and  some  times  semi-hostile 
theses  formulating  ’neath  the  old  common  one.  So  to- 
day, instead  of  one  common  thesis  in  the  attitude  of  for- 
eign nations  toward  China,  there  are  several  being  ac- 
tively promoted.  As  frequently  happens  in  international 
affairs,  the  counter  currents  of  these  different  theses  are 
partly  cloaked  by  a general  policy  to  which  all  important 
nations  interested  in  the  Far  Eastern  Question  out- 
wardly subscribe.  This  is  embodied  in  what  are  termed 
the  “ open  door  ” and  “ integrity  of  China  ” doctrines, 
and  which  by  reiteration  have  become  too  familiar  to  re- 
quire explanation  here.  Of  these  two  doctrines,  the  more 
essential  is  that  designed  to  secure  and  preserve  the  ter- 
ritorial integrity  and  political  autonomy  of  China ; for 
it  is  apparent  that  if  China  becomes  self-reliant  in  an  in- 
ternational sense,  the  “ open  door  ” policy  in  her  trade 
relations  wdth  other  nations  will  follow  logically. 

It  is  in  certain  interpretations  now'  given  the  “ integ- 
rity of  China”  doctri'.ie  that  one  fundamental  divergence 
of  the  theses  of  foreign  powers  can  be  discerned.  Some 
construe  this  doctrine  merely  to  mean  preservation  of  the 
status  quo;  that  is,  China’s  territorial  domain  should  re- 
main nominally  under  her  sovereignty,  but  that  her  ad- 


NEED  OF  AN  AMERICAN  POLICY  85 


ministrative  processes  continue  to  be  subjected  to  exter- 
nal suggestion  and  advice  amounting,  when  stripped  of 
its  veil  of  political  fiction,  to  actual  coercion.  This  thesis 
bases  its  ethical  justification  upon  the  theory  that  China 
is  now  incapable  of  conducting  her  affairs  and  instituting 
governmental  reforms  without  assistance;  therefore,  it  is 
paternal  in  conception.  If  the  bona  Udes  of  this  thesis  is 
conceded,  it  is  evident  that  the  proof  of  this  will  be  dem- 
onstrated by  the  paradox  of  it  being  rendered  futile  by 
its  success;  for  an  infant  will  grow  to  years  of  discre- 
tion (unless  arbitrarily  restrained  in  swaddling  clothes) 
when  tutelage  will  not  be  needed  nor  tolerated.  Obviously 
it  is  preposterous  to  assume  that  the  oldest  government 
in  the  world  is  internally  incapable  of  sustaining  itself. 
So  a paternal  attitude  toward  China  must  be  confined  to 
her  effort  to  reform  her  government,  and  by  applying 
this  thesis  to  certain  fundamental  elements  of  the  reform 
movement  in  China  we  can  secure  a test  of  its  bona  Mes 
in  this  instance. 

The  reform  movement  in  China  is  in  a nascent  stage ; 
but  the  popular  sentiments  and  impulses  which  give  it 
initial  vitality  take  root  in  propositions  palpably  definite 
and  practical.  Their  sentimental  slogan  is  “ China  for 
the  Chinese.”  This  idea  runs  through  all  phases  of  the 
reform  movement,  and  provides  the  basic  doctrine  for  all 
political  groups,  although  variously  expressed.  Put  more 
specifically,  it  is  expressed  in  the  so-called  “ right  of 
recovery  ” policy.  This  policy  has  numerous  forms,  but 
all  of  them  turn  upon  the  following  propositions; 

1.  The  abolition  of  extra  territoriality. 

2.  Restoration  of  the  fiscal  autonomy  of  the  Empire. 

3.  Abolition  of  residential  districts,  or  “ concessions,” 
within  the  Empire  which  are  under  the  adminis- 
tration of  foreigners  and  outside  the  full  jurisdic- 
tion of  China. 


86 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


4.  Recovery  by  Chinese  of  ownership  and  manage- 
ment of  concessions  to  foreign  governments,  and 
corporations  which  serve  to  mask  governments, 
such  as  railways  and  leased  territory. 

In  respect  to  these  propositions,  we  are  now  concerned 
less  with  the  reasons  for  their  establishment  and  exist- 
ence than  with  their  relation  to  the  possible  rehabilitation 
of  China.  There  is  no  doubt  that  they  are  inconsistent 
with  real  national  autonomy  and  with  wholesome  na- 
tional pride,  and  cannot  be  regarded  by  Chinese 
except  as  anomalous  and  only  temporarily  toler- 
able. No  really  autonomous  nation  will  submit  to 
these  conditions;  therefore,  genuine  reform  in  China, 
having  as  an  object  and  result  a reconstruction  of 
the  Empire  and  its  establishment  on  equal  plane  with 
other  nations,  logically  means  their  ultimate  abolition, 
and  nations  which  are  sincere  in  wishing  China  to  re- 
form logically  must  desire  the  abolition  of  extra  terri- 
toriality and  quasi-sovereign  foreign  concessions.  It  ap- 
pears, then,  that  the  real  attitude  of  foreign  nations 
toward  China  may  be  deduced  from  their  attitude  toward 
these  phases  of  the  reform  movement,  which  should 
demonstrate  whether  they  are  at  heart  disposed  to  aid  or 
obstruct  reform.  It  is  clear  that  an  interpretation  of  the 
, “ integrity  of  China  ” doctrine  which  balks  at  accepting 
its  logical  outcome  is  at  best  a makeshift,  and  is  really 
opposed  to  the  true  spirit  of  the  doctrine. 

Among  foreign  policies  which  have  been  applied  in 
China  with  enough  power  to  make  them  felt  in  shaping 
the  broader  course  of  events,  that  of  the  United  States 
of  America  alone  has  taken  a course  which  now  enables 
it  sincerely  to  support  the  “ integrity  of  China  ” doctrine 
without  being  suspected  of  inconsistency.  It  is  true  that  our 
first  treaties  with  Oriental  nations,  notably  China  and 


NEED  OF  AN  AMERICAN  ROLICY  87 


Japan,  were  made  the  model  from  which  extra  territori- 
ality was  built,  and  provided  the  foundation  upon  which 
the  present  relations  of  those  nations  with  the  world 
were  laid.  But  in  framing  those  treaties  our  Government, 
while  recognizing  the  need  to  meet  a practical  condition 
then  existing,  conceded  the  principle  that  it  was  to  be 
regarded  as  temporary.  For  many  years  after  Japan  first 
proposed  to  abolish  extra  territoriality  in  her  territories, 
the  United  States  was  the  only  great  nation  which  as- 
sented to  her  wish,  and  supported  her  petition.  This 
demonstrated  that  the  American  conception  of  the  pater- 
nal relation  of  Western  to  Oriental  nations  is  not  incom- 
patible with  the  development  by  them  of  a genuine  au- 
tonomy, as  in  the  case  of  Japan ; which  demonstrates  the 
bona  fidcs  of  our  nation  in  this  matter. 

Our  policy  in  China  has  been  equally  consistent.  It  is 
only  within  the  last  decade,  since  Japan’s  easy  victory 
over  her  revealed  the  military  weakness  of  China,  and 
which  was  followed  by  a series  of  aggressions  upon  her 
territory  by  foreign  powers,  that  her  situation  has  be- 
come acutely  important  to  America.  From  the  time 
when  John  Hay  became  Secretary  of  State  our  nation  has 
played  an  important  though  unobtrusive  part  in  China’s 
affairs.  The  Washington  Government  had  early  adopted 
the  view  that  preservation  of  China’s  territorial  integ- 
rity and  political  autonomy  harmonizes  with  broader  in- 
terests of  the  United  States,  and  it  consistently  exerted 
its  influence  in  supporting  its  thesis.  Several  times  in 
the  last  decade  America  has  initiated  international  ac- 
tion in  China’s  favor ; indeed,  it  reasonably  may  be 
claimed  that  every  important  proposal  concerning  the  in- 
ternational status  of  China  that  w^as  at  once  practical  and 
sincere,  which  during  this  period  the  powers  have  been 
induced  to  accede  to,  was  promoted  by  the  United  States. 
The  more  important  of  these  moves  are  : 


88 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


1.  The  Hay  Agreement,  acceded  to  by  the  powers  in 
1899,  by  which  the  principle  of  China’s  political 
integrity  and  the  “ open  door  ” was  formulated 
into  an  international  covenant. 

2.  The  refusal  of  the  United  States  to  assent  to  the 
imposition,  in  1901,  of  an  oppressive  indemnity 
upon  China,  which  would  have  made  her  the  fiscal 
vassal  of  foreign  nations  for  an  indefinite  period. 

3.  Action  of  the  United  States,  in  1904,  in  inducing 
the  belligerent  powers,  Russia  and  Japan,  to  con- 
fine hostilities  to  a defined  region,  in  order  to  limit 
the  devastating  results  of  war  upon  the  Chinese 
inhabitants,  and  to  prevent  the  further  embroil- 
ment of  China. 

4.  The  action  of  President  Roosevelt  in  using  his  in- 
fluence to  terminate  the  w'ar  between  Japan  and 
Russia,  and  to  secure  definite  assent  of  those  na- 
tions, in  their  treaty  of  peace,  to  the  restoration  of 
Manchuria  to  China  and  to  the  doctrines  of  the 
“ open  door  ” and  “ territorial  integrity.” 

It  is  chiefly  due  to  the  attitude  of  the  United  States 
that  no  nation  in  any  treaty  or  agreement  it  has  since 
made  regarding  Eastern  affairs  has,  whatever  its  designs 
may  be,  felt  able  to  omit  a reaffirmation  of  the  Hay  Doc- 
trine, and  so  it  has  come  about  that  all  important  nations 
which  are  interested  in  the  Eastern  Question  are  on  rec- 
ord in  one  or  several  conventions  as  favoring  the  main- 
tenance of  China’s  integrity  and  the  “ open  door.”  It 
may  be  argued  that  if  all  interested  nations  are  agreed 
in  the  premises  of  the  Eastern  Question,  and  have  ex- 
pressed their  policies  in  formal  notes  and  specific  conven- 
tions with  each  other  and  China,  a satisfactory  course  is 
assured.  Unfortunately,  however,  the  practical  applica- 
tion of  certain  policies  in  Asia  is  now,  as  ever,  running 


NEED  OF  AN  AMERICAN  POLICY  89 


directly  contrary  to  fundamental  principles  of  the  Hay 
Agreement.  Instead  of  being  relieved  of  apprehension 
of  external  aggression,  and  feeling  free  peacefully  to  re- 
form her  internal  administration  in  compliance  with 
modem  requirements,  China  is  still'  confronted  with  a 
situation  which  threatens  her  national  existence ; and  the 
“ open  door  ” is  being  evaded  and  undermined.  Unless 
this  tendency  is  again  checked  the  forces  of  disintegra- 
tion may  get  the  upper  hand,  and  it  may  be  impossible  to 
prevent  disruption  of  the  Empire.  This  condition,  which 
is  recognized  by  most  students  of  the  course  of  events 
in  the  East,  is  causing  the  chancelleries  of  the  world  to 
re-study  the  question  and  to  re-examine  their  policies  in 
order  to  test  their  theses  in  the  light  of  developments. 
It  is  conceded  that  years  are  required  for  China  to  be- 
come able  herself  to  repulse  foreign  aggressions ; hence 
it  follows  that  in  this  interim  her  equilibrium  only  can 
be  sustained,  if  it  is  threatened  by  any  powerful  nation 
or  nations,  by  inducing  the  counter-balancing  pressure 
of  other  nations  to  preserve  her.  In  such  a situation, 
each  passing  year  more  clearly  demonstrates  a hypoth- 
esis that  only  the  direct  intervention  of  the  United  States 
of  America  can  accomplish  this. 

That  there  are  fundamental  differences  between  a dis- 
tinctive American  policy  in  China  and  the  conventional 
attitude  of  other  nations  becomes  more  obvious  as  time 
passes.  This  divergence  involves  much  the  same  propo- 
sitions and  incompatibility  as  the  American  policy  in  the 
Philippines  and  the  British  policy  in  India,  and  com- 
prises both  ethical  and  political  considerations.  All  the 
greater  powers  profess  to  desire  the  rejuvenation  of 
China  into  a nation  capable  of  sustaining  its  own  po- 
sition ; but  some  of  them  are  either  actually  hostile  to 
reform  there,  or  fear  some  of  its  tendencies  and  inevi- 
table results.  The  so-called  “ interests  ” of  mo.st  foreign 


90 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


nations  in  China  have  been  established  and  now  to  some 
extent  rest  upon  conditions  which  real  autonomy  will 
eliminate.  The  courses  in  recent  years  of  several  powers 
conclusively  intimate  that  the  kind  of  reform  they  favor 
for  China  is  just  enough  progress  to  provide  opportunity 
for  foreign  enterprises,  while  keeping  China  subordinated 
to  pressure  in  their  favor  by  foreign  diplomacy.  To 
some  extent  the  situation  of  foreigners  and  foreign  in- 
terests in  China  now  rests  upon  the  power  and  disposi- 
tion of  foreign  nations  to  apply  pressure  upon  China 
amounting,  if  need  be,  to  coercion ; and  which  frequently 
is  expressed  by  a condescending  and  overbearing  atti- 
tude in  diplomatic  relations.  Many  foreign  interests  in 
China  are  beneficiaries  from  the  extraordinary  conditions 
which  now  obtain,  and  are  opposed  to  change ; and  these 
are  tacitly  arrayed  against  genuine  reform,  although  per- 
haps vociferous  in  complaining  about  inconveniences 
caused  by  archaic  administrative  methods. 

The  thesis  of  the  American  policy  in  China  runs  con- 
trary to  the  opinions  of  many  foreign  residents  there, 
and  to  the  prosecuted  policies  of  most  governments,  as 
distinguished  from  their  diplomatic  pronouncements ; 
and  consequently  it  encounters  strong  opposition  from 
quarters  whence  it  might  be  presumed  to  receive  moral 
and  practical  support.  Speaking  at  Shanghai  in  Octo- 
ber, igoy,  Mr.  William  H.  Taft  elucidated  the  thesis  of 
the  American  policy  as  follows : 

“ The  United  States  and  others  who  sincerely  favor  the 
open  door  policy  will,  if  they  are  wise,  not  only  welcome, 
but  will  encourage  this  great  Chinese  Empire  to  take 
long  steps  in  administrative  and  governmental  reform,  in 
the  development  of  her  natural  resources  and  the  im- 
provement and  welfare  of  her  people.  In  this  way  she 
will  add  strength  to  her  position  as  a self-respecting  na- 


NEED  OF  AN  AMERICAN  POLICY  91 


tion ; may  resist  all  foreign  aggression  seeking  undue, 
exclusive  or  proprietary  privileges  in  her  territory,  and 
without  foreign  aid  enforce  an  open  door  policy  of  equal 
opportunity  to  all.” 

This  aptly  illustrates  the  difference  between  the 
American  and  what  may  be  called  the  European  (includ- 
ing Japan)  theses.  Both  are  paternal  in  the  sense  that 
they  recognize  that  China  needs  help  in  getting  on  her 
feet ; but  the  European  thesis  evades  the  logic  of  its 
major  premise.  America  wants  to  help  China  become 
ACTU.ALLY  self-reliant ; some  other  nations  seem  to  be  de- 
termined that  she  shall  not,  but  will  remain  in  their 
leading  strings  indefinitely  until,  perchance,  her  alleged 
backwardness  can  be  made  an  excuse  for  assuming  that 
her  case  is  hopeless,  and  that  she  must  remain  a perma- 
nent international  ward,  or  be  segregated  into  portions,  as 
parts  of  her  territor\-  now  are,  under  foreign  quasi-sov- 
ereignty. It  is  argued  that  real  autonomy  for  China  will 
operate  to  the  disadvantage  of  foreign  interests,  thereby 
impairing  the  security  of  their  position ; and  it  may  be 
conceded  that  this  will  be  true  in  a measure,  for  there  is 
no  reform  without  its  vicarious  sacrifice ; but  there  would 
be  ample  compensation  in  the  stimulus  such  a change 
would  give  the  development  of  China’s  industry  and 
trade,  in  which  all  nations  will  share. 

In  aiding  China  to  acquire  modern  administrative  ef- 
ficiency disinterestedness,  patience  and  firmness  should  be 
employed.  Real  disinterestedness  might  mean  indifference ; 
but  sufficient  interest  in  China’s  stability  and  prosperity 
to  induce  activity  in  propelling  her  in  the  right  direction, 
without  being  wdiolly  selfish,  is  the  measure  needed.  It 
may  be  expected  that  China  will  in  years  to  come  often 
try  the  patience  even  of  disinterested  friends  almost  to  the 
limit  of  endurance,  by  procrastinating  methods  which 


92 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


have  heretofore  been  inseparable  from  her  administrative 
processes ; but  the  attempt  to  help  her  should  not  be 
abandoned  on  this  account.  There  is  a genuine  com- 
munity of  interests  with  China  and  the  United  States. 
Political  and  social  forces  now  operating  in  the  East  are 
steadily  inclining  China  toward  closer  contact  with 
America,  and  in  my  opinion  it  requires  only  circumspect 
diplomatic  activity  for  our  nation  to  become  the  most  in- 
fluential foreign  power  with  the  empire.  It  is  difficult  to 
conceive  how  the  American  people  can  be  indifferent  to 
the  situation  of  this  nation  of  430,000,000  souls,  or  un- 
affected by  its  fate.  Invention  is  every  day  bringing  us 
closer  to  Asia,  and  we  cannot  escape  contact  with  Ori- 
entals or  avoid  feeling  the  effects  of  their  evolution 
whether  we  wish  or  not.  Who  can  reflect  on  recent  de- 
velopments of  air  and  water  navigation  and  fail  to  realize 
that  probably  another  twenty  years  will  place  China  as 
much  at  our  doors  as  was  Cuba  in  1898?  The  interest 
of  the  United  States  in  the  balance  of  power  in  the  Pa- 
cific Ocean  is  fundamental,  and  the  policy  of  our  Govern- 
ment should  be  shaped  in  recognition  of  the  fact  that 
China  is  the  true  axis  of  political  stability  in  the  Far 
East. 

it  therefore  will  be  necessary  for  the  United  States  to 
decide  whether  in  the  crisis  which  is  approaching  it  will 
actively  move  to  compel  a satisfactory  solution,  or  will 
permit  American  interests  to  continue  to  drift  on  the  cur- 
rent of  events ; whether  it  will  formulate  its  own  policy 
or  have  one  thrust  upon  it ; whether  it  will  lead  or  follow. 
That  the  United  States  must  have  an  Asiatic  policy  can- 
not be  doubted.  American  statesmen  and  people  may 
shrink  from  participation  in  the  Eastern  Question,  but  it 
inevitably  will  intrude  upon  them ; and  it  is  bound  up  in 
the  fate  of  China.  This  great  Empire  will  be  the  storm 
center  of  the  forthcoming  diplomatic  struggle  and  the 


NEED  OF  AN  AMERICAN  POLICY  93 


scene  of  any  international  conflicts  which  failure  of  peace- 
ful adjustment  will  provoke.  As  the  Monroe  Doctrine 
invokes  the  United  States  to  interfere  should  stronger 
nations  aggress  upon  Central  and  South  American  states, 
so  may  a strong  Pacific  Ocean  policy  invoke  its  aid  to 
preserve  China. 

That  the  proposition  contains  this  possibility  may  be 
granted ; and  admitting  this,  we  should  not  hesitate  to 
admit  the  logic  of  the  conclusion.  And  this  compels  us 
to  face  the  obvious  fact  that  a distinctive  American  policy 
concerning  China  never  will  attain  full  vitality  until  our 
nation  is  prepared  to  accept  the  responsibility  for  certain 
possible  results ; in  other  words,  our  Eastern  policy  w'ill 
not  be  respected  until  the  world  is  convinced  that  fail- 
ure to  consider  and  meet  our  reasonable  wishes  carries 
a probability  of  war.  I deprecate  war ; but  I wish  to 
confine  my  discussion  to  practical  conditions,  and  we  can- 
not ignore  the  fact  that  a nation  which  will  not,  upon  due 
provocation,  fight  to  protect  its  interests  will  quickly  feel 
the  force  of  foreign  aggression.  What  better  illustration 
of  this  than  that  afforded  by  the  Empire  whose  precarious 
situation  is  the  subject  of  this  conference? 

The  time  is  ripe  for  an  American  statesman  to  extend 
and  make  more  comprehensive  the  principles  enunciated 
by  Mr.  Taft  at  Shanghai.  The  thesis  of  a distinctive 
American  policy  toward  China  was  admirably  stated  by 
the  experienced  administrator  who  now  is  President  of 
the  United  States;  but  to  be  effective  in  accomplishing 
its  objects  it  must  be  expanded  into  something  more 
definite  and  conclusive.  On  a day  not  far  distant,  I hope 
that  an  American  statesman  will  define  our  attitude 
toward  China  in  words  something  like  these : 

“ The  United  States  of  America  considers  the  terri- 
torial integrity  of  China  and  her  political  autonomy 

I 

I 


94 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


within  the  entire  limits  of  the  Empire  as  now  constituted 
to  be  important  to  its  (the  United  States)  interests  and 
to  the  preservation  of  the  existing  status  quo  in  the  Pacific 
Ocean,  and  would  regard  any  encroachment  or  aggres- 
sion upon  either,  by  any  nation  whatsoever,  as  inimical 
to  the  interests  of  this  nation.” 

Such  an  utterance  probably  would  startle  the  diplo- 
matic world,  and  perhaps  cause  a temporary  international 
flurry ; but  as  soon  as  the  momentary  excitement  sub- 
sided, and  its  real  import  was  appreciated,  it  hardly  could 
fail  to  clarify  the  Eastern  situation,  and  be  a makeweight 
for  peace  in  that  locality ; just  as  the  Monroe  Doctrine 
undoubtedly  has  tended  to  safeguard  South  and  Central 
American  states  from  being  embroiled  in  the  scope  of 
ambitions  of  European  nations. 

I am  convinced  that  the  time  has  come  for  America’s 
policy  in  China  to  break  away  from  the  leading  strings 
of  the  European  thesis  in  practice  as  well  as  in  theory.  I 
cannot  see  what  our  nation  has  to  gain  by  lending  sup- 
port, even  passively,  to  a thesis  which  tends  to  secure  our 
competing  nations  in  their  present  advantages  and  proj- 
ects by  arraying  against  American  enterprise  in  China 
the  inertia  of  obsolete  conditions.  The  principles  which 
always  have  imbued  the  dealings  of  our  nation  with  Orien- 
tal states,  and  which  were  re-stated  by  Mr.  Taft  at  Shang- 
hai, carry  greater  promise  for  all  legitimate  interests  in 
China ; and  it  may  be  hoped  that  this  theorem  will  be 
given  practical  effect  by  the  prosecution  of  a distinctive 
American  policy  there. 


y 


THE  HISTORY  AND  ECONOMICS  OF  THE 
FOREIGN  TRADE  OF  CHINA 

During  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries,  the 
traders  of  the  Western  nations  went  to  China  for  tea  and 
silk.  There  was  a moderate  demand  for  cotton  cloth — 
nankeens — which  was  superior  in  color  and  texture  to 
the  more  expensive  product  of  Western  looms,  and  for 
those  articles,  such  as  porcelain,  lacquered  ware  and  ivory 
carvings,  which  were  desired  for  their  quaintness;  but 
tea  and  silk  were  always,  even  down  to  the  middle  of  the 
nineteenth  century,  the  main  staples  of  China’s  export 
trade.  Comparing  the  trade  of  1906  with  that  of  1837, 
it  will  be  found  that  tea,  which  to-day  furnishes  ii  per 
cent,  of  the  value  of  all  exports,  in  1837  furnished  61  per 
cent. ; silk,  to-day  30  per  cent.,  is  unaltered  in  its  relative 
proportion  from  the  33  per  cent,  of  1837 ; but,  outside 
tea  and  silk  and  its  products,  the  unlimited  range  of  other 
productions  of  the  Celestial  Empire  has  grown  from  a 
modest  6 per  cent,  to  nearly  three-fifths — 59  per  cent. — 
of  the  entire  export  trade. 

The  American  colonies  had  not  reached  the  dignity 
of  being  clothed  in  home-spun  silk ; and  the  colonial  con- 
nection with  the  China  trade  was  entirely  through  the 
honorable  East  India  Company,  coming  to  an  abrupt  end 
in  Boston  harbor,  and  elsewhere  from  New  Hampshire 
to  South  Carolina,  in  December,  1773.  Colonists,  as  in 
Australia  to-day,  are  always  great  tea  drinkers,  but  for 
ten  long  years  the  American  people  denied  themselves. 
Then,  on  February  22,  1784,  the  year  following  the  peace 

95 


96 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


which  first  made  it  possible  for  an  American  ship  under 
the  American  flag  to  cross  the  ocean  in  safety,  the  good 
ship  Empress  of  China  left  New  York  for  Canton  to  bring 
back  a cargo  of  tea,  for  the  cup  which  cheers,  but  not 
inebriates.  Various  factors  tended  to  cause  a great  de- 
velopment of  this  trade.  First  the  capacity  of  the  mer- 
chants of  Salem,  Boston,  New  York,  and  Philadelphia, 
whose  attention  had  not  then  been  turned  to  the  railway 
development  of  their  own  country.  Then  the  skill  and 
boldness  of  the  American  sailor;  in  1788  the  ship  Alli- 
ance sailed  to  Canton  with  no  charts,  but  only  a map  of 
the  then  known  world  on  Mercator’s  projection,  and 
never  dropped  anchor  from  the  time  she  left  Philadelphia. 
But  above  all  other  causes  were  the  Napoleonic  wars, 
which  gave  neutrals  a golden  opening,  in  China  as  along 
the  coasts  of  Europe.  During  the  first  decade  of  the 
nineteenth  century.  Great  Britain,  mistress  of  the  seas, 
took  about  three-fifths  of  China’s  exports,  the  Americans, 
the  great  neutrals,  a third,  and  the  other  nations  “ also 
ran.”  American  trade  continued  to  flourish,  until  in 
1852  no  less  than  47  per  cent,  of  the  foreign  tonnage 
entering  the  port  of  Shanghai  was  under  the  American 
flag.  Then  England  struck  away  the  crutches  from  her 
ship-owners  by  abolishing  her  navigation  laws,  and  be- 
fore i860  had  begun  to  recover  her  old-time  supremacy. 

During  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries  the 
balance  of  trade  was  always  “ in  favor  ” of  China,  a 
situation  so  dearly  loved  of  economists  of  the  old  school. 
The  foreign  trader  had  to  find  the  means  of  buying  his 
tea  and  silk,  of  providing  for  heavy  disbursements  for 
his  foreign  establishment  and  his  ships,  and  of  meet- 
ing the  taxes  and  other  and  much  heavier  charges  laid 
by  the  officials  on  his  ships  and  goods;  to  illustrate  the 
last  it  is  enough  to  say  that  the  tonnage  charges  alone 
on  an  East  India  Company’s  ship  were  not  less  than 


THE  FOREIGN  TRADE  OF  CHINA  97 


$8,000,  and  even  on  the  smaller  American  ships,  averag- 
ing about  400  tons,  never  fell  below  $4,000.  To  provide 
this  export  fund,  the  import  of  goods  never  sufficed ; 
during  the  eighteenth  century  it  never  amounted  to  one- 
fifth  of  the  sum  required ; there  were  then  no  securities, 
by  the  transfer  of  which  the  international  balance  could 
be  adjusted;  and  during  the  whole  of  that  century 
Europe  was  drained  of  its  silver,  and  poured  into  China 
a mass  which,  for  the  period  to  1830,  cannot  be  estimated 
at  less  than  $500,000,000.  Except  a small  quantity  of 
English  woollens  (and  on  them  the  East  India  Com- 
pany declared  the  loss  to  have  been  £72,500  sterling  a 
year),  China  wanted  no  foreign  products,  except  two 
alone ; opium  was  one,  and  the  other  was  cotton,  of  which 
China  is  the  second  greatest  producer  in  the  world. 
The  drain  continued  down  into  the  nineteenth  century, 
until  1830.  From  1818  was  seen  the  even  more  waste- 
ful process  of  importing  in  American  ships  the  silver 
which  was  at  once  shipped  away  in  English  ships ; from 
1818  to  1830  in  round  figures  the  known  import  of  silver 
in  American  ships  was  $60,000,000,  and  the  known  ex- 
port in  English  ships  was  $40,000,000.  This  indicated 
the  turning  of  the  tide. 

Up  to  1830  the  American  trade  with  China  was  con- 
ducted on  the  basis  of  a triangular  operation.  American 
products  were  shipped  to  Europe ; with  the  proceeds  in 
Spanish  dollars — the  Chinese  would  take  no  other — the 
ship  sailed,  practically  in  ballast,  either  direct  from 
Europe  or  from  an  American  port  to  Canton,  and  there 
loaded  tea  for  the  United  States.  Up  to  1815  a full 
four-fifths  of  the  export  fund  for  American  ships  was 
provided  by  Spanish  dollars  in  this  way;  and  in  the 
fifteen  years  from  1816  to  1830  a full  two-thirds;  but 
in  1830  an  abrupt  change  was  made.  The  American 
trade  at  Canton  was  thereafter  financed  by  bills  of  ex- 


98 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


change  on  London,  for  which  the  money  was  readily 
found  at  Canton  through  the  expansion  of  the  opium 
trade. 

Opium  was  produced  in  China  long  before  it  was  im- 
ported, both  the  home  and  foreign  product  being  used 
for  medicinal  purposes.  Tobacco  was  introduced  by  the 
Spanish  from  America  about  1620,  and  its  use  for  smok- 
ing was  prohibited  by  Imperial  edict;  but  to-day  it  is 
smoked  by  every  man  and  woman  in  China.  Through 
the  Dutch  the  practice  of  mixing  opium  with  the  tobacco 
was  introduced  from  Java  about  1650;  and  in  1729  its 
use  too  was  prohibited  by  Imperial  edict.  At  that  time 
the  import  of  foreign  opium  was  less  than  200  chests  a 
year.  The  home  production  and  the  foreign  import  in- 
creased slowly  through  that  century,  and  the  evils  of 
smoking  increased  in  proportion;  until  in  1800  an  Im- 
perial edict  prohibited  both  the  importation  and  the  pro- 
duction. Until  1800  opium  was  in  the  Chinese  custom 
house  a commodity  like  another,  being  classed  in  the 
tariff  with  fragrant  gums,  like  olibanum,  asafoetida,  etc. 
The  edict  was  absolutely  disregarded  by  the  officials 
whose  duty  it  was  to  enforce  it;  and  the  only  visible 
changes  were  that  opium  was  thenceforth  smoked  by  it- 
self, and  no  longer  mixed  with  tobacco,  and  that  it  no 
longer  came  to  the  city  of  Canton,  but  remained  at 
Whampoa  and  Macao,  both  equally  under  Chinese  fiscal 
and  territorial  control.  Up  to  1821  the  value  of  the 
cotton  imported  was  never  less  than  double  that  of  the 
opium,  and  both  together  contributed  less  than  a third 
of  the  import  of  goods,  and  much  less  than  a fifth  of  the 
total  export  fund.  In  1821  a reforming  viceroy  ordered 
the  opium  away  from  Whampoa  and  Macao,  and  showed 
that  he  meant  his  order  to  be  obeyed ; and  from  this 
time  opium  showed  an  importance  in  balancing  China’s 
foreign  trade  which  it  never  had  had  before.  In  1823 


THE  FOREIGN  TRADE  OF  CHINA  99 


the  value  of  opium  for  the  first  time  overpassed  that  of 
cotton,  in  1829  it  was  double,  and  in  1837  two  and  a 
half  times  as  great.  Up  to  1800  the  import  had  in 
only  one  year  exceeded  2,000  chests,  and,  in  the  twenty- 
one  years  following,  the  average  was  under  4>300  chests. 
Then  came  the  period  of  successively  greater  restrictions 
and  greater  corruption  of  the  officials,  the  one  providing 
the  opportunity  for  the  other,  and  the  trade  rapidly  ex- 
panded, until  in  the  year  1830  the  import  reached  16,257 
chests.  This  was  the  year  in  which  the  American  trade 
finally  abandoned  the  practice  of  importing  dollars  and 
substituted  bills  on  London,  which  of  course  were  bought 
at  Canton  with  the  proceeds  of  the  sale  of  opium. 

The  foreign  opium  came  from  three  sources.  Let  us 
take  as  typical  the  year  1829  in  which  the  total  import 
was  13,868  chests.  Of  this  quantity,  4,903  chests  were 
Bengal  opium  proceeding  from  the  East  India  Company’s 
monopoly,  from  which  ten  years  later  it  derived  an 
annual  revenue  of  upwards  of  £1,500,000  sterling.  Then 
7,709  chests  were  Malwa  opium  produced  in  the  states  of 
the  independent  princes  of  Rajputana ; of  these.  2,820 
chests  were  shipped  through  the  English  port  of  Bombay, 
contributing  to  the  Company’s  revenue  a transit  duty  of 
125  rupees  a chest,  making  a total  of  £35,250;  and  3,889 
chests  passed  through  the  Portuguese  port  of  Daman, 
reaching  it  by  way  of  the  independent  port  of  Karachi, 
this  latter  port  becoming  English  only  on  the  annexa- 
tion of  Sind  in  1843;  the  remaining  1,000  chests  is  the 
approximate  estimate  of  the  quantity  introduced  by  the 
Portuguese  through  Macao,  presumably  from  Daman. 
Then  1,256  chests  were  Turkey  opium  imported  on 
American  account  in  American  ships  from  Smyrna  or 
London. 

The  trade  had  finally  found  its  means  of  balancing  it- 
self with  opium,  which  the  Chinese  would  take  when 


lOO 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


they  would  not  take  other  commodities.  In  1837  it  pro- 
vided 53  per  cent.,  and  cotton  22  per  cent,  of  all  im- 
ports, English  manufactures  and  tropical  spices  supplying 
the  remaining  25  per  cent. ; the  movement  of  treasure 
had  turned  the  other  way,  and  in  that  year  the  ship- 
ment from  Canton  of  something  over  $3,000,000  was 
required  to  balance  the  trade,  and  in  addition  the  agents 
of  the  East  India  Company  bought  bills  to  the  amount 
of  $4,186,663.  For  two  centuries  the  problem  had  been 
to  find  the  means  of  buying  export  cargoes  without  con- 
tinuing the  drain  of  the  precious  metal  (silver  only;  gold 
is  a commodity  in  China)  from  the  Western  treasuries; 
since  then  for  seventy  years  the  problem  has  been  to  find 
Chinese  produce  with  which  to  pay  for  the  imports,  and, 
in  order  that  the  problem  may  be  studied,  I propose  to 
analyze  somewhat  the  trade  of  the  year  1906.  The  year 
1907,  the  latest  for  which  the  figures  are  now  in  my 
hands,  has  been  a period  of  depressed  trade  and  liquida- 
tion of  stocks. 

In  1837  opium  provided  53  per  cent,  of  all  imports, 
and  in  1906  under  8 per  cent.  The  quantity  had  in- 
creased absolutely  from  28,307  to  47,732  chests  (having 
in  the  interim  risen  as  high  as  76,811  chests),  but  the 
proportion  to  the  whole  trade  was  much  less.  The  per- 
manent American  connection  with  the  trade  ceased  in 
1855,  three  years  before  it  was  legalized  in  1858;  and, 
except  for  one  English  house,  the  trade  is  now  in  the 
hands  of  Bombay  Jews  and  Parsees. 

In  1837  cotton  fabrics  were  exported  from  China,  and 
the  importation  of  machine-spun  and  machine-woven 
cottons  had  only  just  begun.  In  1837  the  value  of  the 
export  was  $500,000;  in  1906  the  value  of  the  import  of 
cotton  manufacturers  was  153,000,000  taels  ($122,- 
500,000),  which  was  37  per  cent,  of  the  value  of  all  im- 
ports. In  1906  there  was,  however,  still  an  export  of 


THE  FOREIGN  TRADE  OF  CHINA  loi 


Chinese  hand-woven  cloth  to  the  value  of  2.300,000  taels 
($1,850,000)  called  for  by  the  colonies  of  Chinese  settled 
in  the  Malay  Archipelago.  Of  cotton  products  imported, 
yarn  and  twist  constituted  42  per  cent.,  the  quantity  being 
close  on  340,000,000  pounds;  of  this  72  per  cent,  came 
from  the  mills  of  British  India,  26  per  cent,  from 
Japanese  mills,  and  ij  per  cent,  from  English.  Plain 
fabrics  came  next,  with  an  import  of  20,250,000  pieces, 
averaging  about  40  yards ; of  these  53  per  cent,  came 
from  English  mills,  42  per  cent,  from  American,  and  3 
per  cent,  from  Japanese.  Fancy  cottons,  chiefly  imita- 
tions of  more  expensive  woollen  fabrics,  were  valued  at 
27,500,000  taels  ($22,000,000),  chiefly  from  England,  but 
the  cotton  flannel  from  America. 

Woollen  fabrics  were  valued  at  4,400,000  taels  ($3,- 

500.000) ,  which  was  less  than  half  the  value  of  the  im- 
port in  1837.  The  Chinese  who  can  afford  woollens 
prefer  silk,  and  the  wearers  of  wadded  cotton  garments 
cannot  aflFord  woollens. 

Of  metals  China  imported  a small  quantity  of  English 
tin  in  1837;  in  1906  the  tin  imported  came  from  Banka, 
off  Sumatra,  and  was  valued  at  2,200,000  taels  ($1,- 

800.000) .  The  consumption  of  iron  is  said  to  be  the 
best  measure  of  a country’s  civilization  and  the  best 
gauge  of  its  prosperity ; with  a small  home  production  by 
primitive  methods,  the  import  of  iron  and  steel  in  1906 
was  under  180,000  tons,  and  of  this  quantity  40  per 
cent,  was  in  the  form  of  old  iron  and  cuttings.  The 
total  value  of  all  metals  was  4 per  cent,  of  all  imports. 

Outside  these  categories  of  opium,  cottons,  woollens, 
and  metals,  there  is  a long  list  of  sundries  which  were, 
for  the  most  part,  unknown  in  1837,  but  which  in  1906 
were  valued  at  198,250,000  taels  ($158,600,000)  or  48 
per  cent,  of  the  total  import  trade.  Raw  cotton,  which 
in  1837  provided  22  per  cent,  of  all  imports,  in  1906  gave 


102 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


only  one-third  of  one  per  cent. ; while,  on  the  other  hand, 
the  quantity  of  Chinese  cotton  exported  was  seventeen 
times  that  of  the  foreign  cotton  imported.  In  1837  the 
Chinese  smoked  only  their  own  home-grown  tobacco ; in 
1906  they  imported  tobacco,  cigars  and  cigarettes  of  the 
value  of  nearly  8,000,000  taels  ($6,500,000),  of  which 
cigarettes  accounted  for  5,850,000  taels  ($4,700,000), 
coming,  something  over  a half  from  the  United  States, 
a fourth  from  England,  and  a tenth  from  Japan.  The 
import  of  coal,  unknown  in  1837,  amounted  in  1906  to 

1.558.000  tons,  almost  entirely  from  Japan.  Ice,  of 
which  the  first  shipload  arrived  from  Boston  in  July, 
1845,  has  disappeared  from  the  import  list.  Aniline  dyes 
were  unknown  before  the  days  of  Magenta  and  Solferino, 
but  their  import  in  1906  was  valued  at  5,750,000  taels 
($4,600,000),  including  3,180,000  taels  ($2,550,000)  for 
synthetic  indigo,  to  displace  the  native  and  natural  prod- 
uct. The  import  of  flour  from  Oregon  and  California 
amounted  in  1906  to  4,750,000  fifty-pound  bags  (237,- 

500.000  pounds).  In  1837,  Chinese  and  European  alike 
used  flint  and  tinder  for  striking  a light;  in  1906  the 
import  of  matches  was  3,300,000,000  boxes,  almost  en- 
tirely from  Japan,  a number  sufficient  to  give  eight  boxes 
to  every  man,  woman  and  child  in  the  Chinese  Empire. 
Kerosene  had  not  been  discovered  in  1837;  in  1906  the 
import  was  129,000,000  gallons,  of  which  49  per  cent, 
came  from  the  United  States,  30  from  Sumatra,  and  21 
from  Borneo ; in  1903,  before  the  Russo-Japanese  War, 
the  percentage  had  been  American  43,  Sumatran  35, 
Russian  21,  and  i per  cent,  from  Burma  and  Borneo 
together.  Sugar  in  1837  was  an  article  of  export;  in 
1906  the  import  was  875,000,000  pounds.  In  1837  China 
had  a monopoly  of  the  supply  of  tea,  but  in  1906  a 
quantity  of  nearly  8,800,000  pounds  of  tea  was  imported 
into  China  from  India,  Ceylon,  and  Java,  all  of  which 


THE  FOREIGN  TRADE  OF  CHINA  103 


have  derived  the  industry  from  China  within  half  a 
century  past,  and  have  almost  driven  Chinese  tea  from 
many  of  the  markets  of  the  world. 

The  total  imports  in  1837  were  valued  at  $38,200,000. 
In  1906  this  had  increased  to  410,000,000  taels  ($328,- 
000,000).  To  this  must  be  added  treasure  amounting  to 
30,250,000  taels  ($24,200,000),  liability  for  payments  on 
loans  and  indemnities,  38,500,000  taels  ($30,800,000), 
and  other  invisible  liabilities  amounting,  it  has  been  esti- 
mated, to  about  32,000,000  taels  ($25,600,000),  making 
a total  sum  of  510,750,000  taels  ($408,600,000)  to  be  pro- 
vided by  China  commercially  to  meet  her  international 
obligations. 

The  total  value  of  the  exports  from  Canton  in  1837 
was  $36,074,860,  to  which  tea  contributed  61  per  cent., 
silk  and  its  products  33  per  cent.,  and  all  other  com- 
modities together  6 per  cent.  Tea  was  the  great  staple, 
and  of  it  China  had  then  a natural  monopoly.  Chinese 
statesmen  then  considered  that,  through  it,  they  could 
coerce  the  world  into  acquiescence  with  their  pretensions. 
In  state  documents  of  the  period  it  was  repeatedly  de- 
clared that  “ our  products,  tea  and  rhubarb,  are  essential 
to  the  outer  people ; by  nature,  owing  to  their  gross  feed- 
ing, they  are  habitually  constipated,  and,  without  the 
tea  and  rhubarb  of  the  inner  land,  they  must  fall  into 
black  humors  and  die.”  Now  the  situation  is  changed. 
English  enterprise  carried  the  tea  industry  to  India,  and 
to-day  95  per  cent,  of  the  leaf  consumed  in  the  United 
Kingdom  comes  from  India  and  Ceylon.  The  Aus- 
tralian and  South  African  markets,  too,  have  been  cap- 
tured. In  the  United  States  the  consumption  of  Chinese 
tea  is  now  only  50  per  cent,  greater  than  in  1837,  and 
about  the  same  as  forty  years  ago ; the  natural  increase 
for  a larger  population  comes  from  other  countries. 
Russia  is  the  only  countr\  remaining  faithful  to  its  love 


104 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


for  the  softer  and  more  wholesome  teas  from  China. 
The  export  by  sea  from  Canton  in  1837  was  59,000,000 
pounds;  and,  in  addition,  a quantity  (in  1838)  of  9,- 
000,000  pounds  crossed  the  land  frontier  by  caravan  for 
Russia,  making  a total  of  68,000,000  pounds,  all  leaf. 
The  export  of  tea  reached  its  maximum  in  1886,  when 
the  total  quantity  exported  was  295,630,000  pounds,  made 
up  of  247,430,000  pounds  of  leaf  and  48,206,000  pounds 
of  brick  tea,  a cheaper  and  coarser  product,  used  in  Cen- 
tral Asia  for  making  a soup.  In  1906  the  export  had 
fallen  to  a total  of  187,200,000  pounds,  made  up  of  109,- 

600.000  pounds  of  leaf  and  77,600,000  pounds  of  brick 
tea;  and  its  value  was  only  ii  per  cent,  of  the  value  of 
all  exports.  Of  the  total  export  Russia  took  13  per  cent, 
in  1837,  and,  measured  by  value  55  per  cent.,  and  by 
quantity  67  per  cent,  in  1906. 

Of  raw  silk  the  export  in  1837  was  2,736,000  pounds 
valued  at  $8,155,000,  of  which  2,719,300  pounds  went  to 
England  and  16,700  pounds  to  America ; there  was  in 
addition  an  export  of  woven  silks  valued  at  $3,550,000, 
of  which  60  per  cent,  went  to  the  United  States.  In 
1906  the  export  of  raw  silk  was  14,731,500  pounds, 
valued  at  55,700,000  taels  ($44,560,000),  of  waste  silk 
137,000,000  pounds,  valued  at  4,750,000  taels  ($3,- 
800,000),  and  of  woven  silks  2,070,000  pounds,  valued 
at  10,850,000  taels  ($8,680,000) ; the  total  value  was  71,- 

300.000  taels  ($57,040,000),  which  was  30  per  cent,  of 
the  value  of  all  exports.  Chinese  silk  has  for  over  two 
thousand  years  been  noted  for  its  quality,  and  it  is  still, 
by  nature,  the  best  in  the  world;  but  there  is  reason  to 
fear  that  the  disease  which  has  attacked  the  silk  worms 
in  all  parts  of  the  world,  and  which  has  been  stamped 
out  in  France,  Italy  and  Japan,  has  not  been  so  success- 
fully combatted  in  China. 

Commodites  other  than  teas  and  silks  were  exported 


THE  FOREIGN  TR.VDE  OF  CHINA  105 


in  1837  (including  cotton  cloth,  $500,000)  to  a total 
value  of  $2,250,000;  in  1906,  their  value  was  139,500,000 
taels  ($111,600,000),  and  this  total  was  made  up  by  a 
long  list  of  commodities  which  have  been  dragged  to  the 
light  of  day  by  traders  who  are  now  as  anxious  to  find 
the  means  of  meeting  China’s  commercial  liabilities  as 
their  predecessors  a century  ago  were  to  find  the  means 
of  buying  China’s  exports.  In  the  list  we  have  in  1906 
living  animals,  exported  chiefly  to  supply  Hongkong  and 
the  Philippines,  to  a value  of  nearly  4,000,000  taels  ($3,- 
200,000),  in  addition  to  eggs  and  other. provisions  valued 
at  4,450,000  taels  ($3,550,000).  Beans,  exported  for  the 
oil  to  be  expressed  from  them,  and  beancake,  the  re- 
siduum of  beans  from  which  the  oil  had  been  expressed, 
were  shipped,  the  first  chiefly  and  the  last  entirely  to 
Japan,  to  the  amount  of  322,000  tons,  valued  at  10,- 
200,000  taels  ($8,160,000) ; the  oil  is  used  for  cooking 
and  illuminating  purposes,  and  the  beancake  for  manur- 
ing the  fields.  In  addition  there  was  an  export  of  33,000 
tons  of  expressed  oils  from  beans,  peanuts,  etc.,  and  of 
110,350  tons  of  oil  seeds  (cotton,  rape  and  sesamum). 
Essential  oils  were  exported  to  the  extent  of  945,000 
pounds,  chiefly  aniseed  oil ; the  only  place  in  the  world 
from  which  this  comes  is  a small  tract  lying  across  the 
frontier  between  China  and  Tonking.  The  export  of 
pigs  bristles  was  5,564,500  pounds,  valued  at  2,750,000 
taels  ($2,200,000).  In  1837  cotton  was  imported  to  the 
amount  of  90,314,000  pounds,  valued  at  $8,225,000;  in 
1906  the  import  was  only  6,047,000  pounds,  but  Chinese 
cotton  was  exported,  almost  entirely  to  Japan,  to  the 
amount  of  102,605,000  pounds,  valued  at  11,630,000  taels 
($9,300,000).  Firecrackers  in  1837  already  supplied 
Young  America  with  the  means  of  celebrating  the 
glorious  Fourth ; in  1906,  the  export  weighed  10,000  tons 
and  was  valued  at  3,600,000  taels  ($2,880,000.)  In 


io6 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


fibres  (hemp,  jute,  and  ramie)  the  resources  of  China 
are  as  yet  only  lightly  tapped ; in  1906  the  export  was  no 
more  than  22,300  tons,  valued  at  3,000,000  taels  ($2,- 
400,000).  Matting  was  early  taken  to  America  to  cover 
the  floors,  and  in  1906  the  export  was  431,000  rolls, 
valued  at  3,100,000  taels  ($2,480,000).  The  shipment  of 
metals  and  their  ores  was  not  dreamed  of  in  1837;  a 
beginning  has  now  been  made,  and  the  export  in  1906 
was  valued  at  5,275,000  taels  ($4,220,000).  Chinese 
paper  was  exported  to  the  amount  of  16,400  tons,  but,  on 
the  other  hand,  26,800  tons  of  foreign  paper  were  im- 
ported. Opium,  of  Chinese  production,  appears  as  an 
export  to  the  amount  of  4,730  chests  (630,700  pounds), 
valued  at  2,000,000  taels  ($1,600,000).  In  1837  furs 
were  imported,  in  no  great  quantity,  however,  from 
America;  in  1906  the  export  of  furs  was  valued  at 

575.000  taels  ($460,000),  of  dressed  skins  (goat  and  kid, 
sheep  and  lamb)  at  3,320,000  taels  ($2,656,000),  and  of 
undressed  hides  (cattle)  and  skins  (goats  and  sheep)  at 

10.400.000  taels  ($8,320,000).  The  export  of  straw- 
braid  in  1906  was  14,700,000  pounds,  valued  at  6,300,000 
taels  ($5,040,000).  Wool,  of  sheep  and  camel,  was 
shipped  to  the  extent  of  20,500  tons,  valued  at  5,500,000 
taels  ($4,400,000) ; it  came  from  the  plains  of  Mongolia 
over  a long  caravan  road  to  the  port  of  Tientsin,  and 
was  shipped  chiefly,  the  camel’s  wool  to  England,  the 
sheep’s  wool  to  the  United  States. 

The  total  value  of  commodities  exported  during  1906 
was  236,500,000  taels  ($189,200,000),  to  which  must  be 
added  31,550,000  taels  ($25,240,000)  for  the  export  of 
treasure,  making  a visible  outward  movement  of  268,- 

050.000  taels  ($214,440,000),  with  which,  apparently,  to 
meet  China’s  international  liabilities,  amounting  to  510,- 

750.000  taels  ($408,600,000).  China’s  invisible  assets 
have  been  made  the  subject  of  some  study,  and  may  be 


THE  FOREIGN  TRADE  OF  CHINA  107 


briefly  summarized  as  follows.  Foreign  nations  spend 
in  China  for  the  maintenance  of  their  navies,  garrisons, 
legations,  consulates,  evangelical  and  educational  mis- 
sions, merchant  shipping  and  travelers,  a sum  which,  it 
is  estimated,  cannot  be  put  lower  than  51,500,000  taels 
($41,200,000)  ; at  the  time  of  the  inquiry  (1904)  it  was 
estimated  that  in  the  year  there  came  from  abroad,  for 
the  development  of  railways,  mines,  etc.,  funds  to  the 
amount  of  27,000,000  taels  ($21,600,000)  ; there  is  un- 
recorded trade  by  the  land  frontiers  in  which  the  e.xcess 
of  exports  over  imports  is  not  less  than  20,000,000  taels 
($16,000,000)  ; and  finally  there  is  the  stream  of  remit- 
tance of  the  profits  and  savings  of  the  millions  of  Chinese 
emigrants  to  America,  Hawaii,  Australia,  Japan,  the 
Philippines,  Indo-China,  Singapore  and  the  Malay 
Peninsula,  the  Dutch  Indies,  Siam,  British  India,  and 
(since  1895)  Formosa,  from  whom  come  annually  an 
amount  which  formerly  I put  at  75,000,000  taels,  but 
which  I am  now  more  inclined  to  estimate  at  100,000,000 
taels  ($80,000,000).  Accepting  the  last  figure,  we  have 
a total  for  China’s  assets  in  international  exchange  of 
466,550,000  taels  ($373,240,000)  ; and,  in  judging  any 
discrepancy  in  an  attempt  to  balance  the  trade  of  1906, 
it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that,  of  the  three  years,  1904- 
5-6,  the  first  eighteen  months  were  a period  of  war  which 
seriously  affected  the  trade  of  China,  and  the  next  eigh- 
teen months  were  a period  of  expansion  and  over-trad- 
ing from  which  the  trade  has  not  even  yet  fully  recov- 
ered. On  the  figures  of  1903,  the  last  year  of  normal 
trade,  the  balance  would  have  been  closer. 

Commercially  China  has  always  balanced  her  inter- 
national accounts  year  by  year.  A hundred  years  ago 
her  exports  were  paid  for  mainly  by  importing  silver,  with 
some  moderate  quantities  of  English  woollens  and  In- 
dian opium  and  cotton;  seventy  years  ago  each  year’s 


io8  CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 

exports  were  paid  for,  about  a half  by  opium,  and  a half 
by  cotton  and  other  products.  Then  wants  were  discov- 
ered or  created,  and  imports  increased ; and  now  the 
problem  is  to  discover  by  what  means  she  may  pay  for 
those  imports.  Up  to  1895  she  had  no  securities  to  offer 
in  exchange,  but  since  that  time  she  has  been  piling  debt 
on  debt,  not  generally  for  internal  improvement,  but  to 
pay  the  bill  for  foolish  wars;  still  a certain  amount,  the 
railway  loans  of  about  $75,000,000,  have  been  for  re- 
productive purposes,  and  have  served  to  redress  the  in- 
ternational balance.  Outside  these  she  is  saddled  with 
a dead  weight  of  over  $30,000,000  a year  which  must  be 
paid  in  exports  without  any  return.  Even  after  the 
opium  trade  shall  be  entirely  abolished,  the  one  serious 
problem  for  Chinese  statesmen  is  to  devise  means  by 
which  the  export  of  commodities  may  be  encouraged  and 
developed,  that  so  the  international  balance  of  exchange 
may  be  maintained  without  bankrupting  the  empire. 


VI 


AMERICA’S  TRADE  RELATIONS  WITH  CHINA 

Our  trade  relations  with  China  began  early  in  the 
history  of  the  Republic,  when  the  fast  American  clippers 
of  500  or  600  tons  sailed  from  Boston,  New  York  or 
Baltimore,  laden  with  American  products  for  the  Straits 
and  a market.  But  the  more  recent  commercial  inter- 
course between  the  two  nations  has  been  conducted  under 
the  guarantee  of  a series  of  treaties  beginning  with  that 
of  1844,  which  contains  the  following  declaration : 
“ Citizens  of  the  United  States  resorting  to  China  for  the 
purposes  of  commerce  shall  in  no  case  be  subject  to  other 
or  higher  duties  than  are  or  shall  be  required  of  the 
people  of  any  other  nation  whatever  . . . and  if 

additional  advantages  and  privileges  of  whatever  descrip- 
tion be  conceded  hereafter  by  China  to  any  other  nation, 
the  United  States  and  the  citizens  thereof  shall  be  en- 
titled to  a complete,  equal  and  impartial  participation  in 
the  same.”  Under  the  treaty  of  1858,  concluded  at 
Tientsin,  the  most  favored  nation  clause  is  still  more 
emphatically  stated,  as  follows : “ The  contracting 

parties  hereby  agree  that  should  at  any  time  Ta-Tsing 
Empire  (the  phrase  used  in  the  treaties  to  describe 
China)  grant  to  any  nation,  or  the  merchants  or  citizens 
of  any  nation,  any  right,  privilege  or  favor  connected 
either  with  navigation,  commerce,  political  or  other  inter- 
course which  is  not  conferred  by  this  treaty,  such  right, 
privilege  and  favor  shall  at  once  freely  inure  to  the  benefit 
of  the  United  States,  its  public  officers,  merchants  and 
citizens.”  It  was  in  the  later  sixties  that  William  H. 


109 


no 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


Seward  made  his  celebrated  prophecy  that  “ the  Pacific 
Ocean,  its  shores,  its  islands  and  the  vast  regions  beyond, 
will  become  the  chief  theater  of  events  in  the  world’s 
great  hereafter.”  The  ancient  world  grew  around  the 
Mediterranean  and  the  great  highway  of  its  commerce 
was  that  inland  sea.  As  the  new  civilization  advanced 
it  sent  its  ships  to  brave  the  perils  of  the  Atlantic,  and 
with  the  navigation  of  that  ocean  is  associated  the 
material  progress  and  the  mechanical  triumphs  of  modern 
times.  We  are  on  the  threshold  of  a new  and  probably 
greater  era  in  which  the  influence  of  an  awakened  Asia 
is  to  make  itself  felt — in  which  that  half  of  the  population 
of  the  world  which  is  grouped  around  the  Far  Eastern 
Pacific  area  will  definitely  take  its  place  among  the 
nations  of  the  world. 

With  the  advance  of  the  United  States  to  the  position 
of  a Pacific  power,  the  integrity  of  China  began  to  be 
clearly  perceived  as  an  American  interest.  The  Alaskan 
purchase  was  dictated  by  a desire  to  grasp  the  oppor- 
tunity to  become  the  foremost  among  the  powers  of  the 
Pacific ; the  acquisition  of  Hawaii  was  a testimony  to  the 
necessity  of  excluding  foreign  control  from  a command- 
ing position  in  mid-Pacific ; the  taking  of  the  Philippines 
was  justified  on  the  ground  that  we  needed  an  emporium 
of  trade  and  a place  of  anns  to  be  ready  against  the  time 
when  other  powers  might  be  moved  to  dispute  the  right 
of  the  United  States  to  enjoy  equality  of  commercial  op- 
portunity in  the  great  markets  of  Eastern  Asia.  We 
have  made  the  construction  of  a canal  across  the  Isthmus 
of  Panama  a national  enterprise,  primarily  because  it 
was  needed  to  enable  the  manufacturing  sections  of  our 
country  to  have  the  full  benefit  of  the  present  and  future 
profit  of  the  commerce  of  the  Pacific.  Our  government 
has  shown  that  it  regards  this  enterprise  as  one  of  su- 
preme importance  to  the  national  welfare  by  treating 


AMERICA’S  TRADE  WITH  CHINA  in 


obstacles  interposed  to  its  execution,  with  such  uncom- 
promising resolution  as  to  startle  a large  portion  of  our 
own  people,  even  more  than  it  startled  the  governments 
and  people  of  the  Central  American  republics.  If  the 
extension  of  the  influence  of  the  United  States  has  been 
anywhere  pursued  in  obedience  to  the  call  of  “ manifest 
destiny,”  it  has  been  on  and  around  the  Pacific  Ocean. 
If  there  be  one  point  more  than  another  where  a check 
to  our  influence  would  dwarf  the  role  which  this  Republic 
is  fitted  to  play  on  the  stage  of  history,  it  would  be  here. 
Were  China,  with  all  its  possibilities  and  opportunities, 
part  of  the  continent  of  Africa,  we  might  have  an  equally 
strong  commercial  interest  in  its  future ; but  we  should 
hardly  be  justified  in  offering  to  its  partition  a more 
vigorous  resistance  than  we  made  to  the  passage  of 
Madagascar  under  French  sovereignty,  and  the  conse- 
quent disappearance  of  a highly  promising  market.  But, 
in  the  case  of  China,  the  commercial  interest  is  reinforced 
by  political  considerations  of  acknowledged  potency — ^by 
reasons  of  policy  which  are  founded  on  an  imperative 
regard  for  the  free  and  full  development  of  our  national 
greatness.  The  place  which  the  United  States  occupies 
in  the  world,  and  the  place  which  it  should  occupy  in 
future  ages,  are  equally  challenged  by  every  step  made 
toward  the  dismemberment  of  China.  Let  the  fact  be 
evaded  or  disregarded  as  we  may,  every  blow  aimed  at 
the  independence  of  that  ancient  empire  is  a blow  at  the 
prestige  of  this  Republic — part  of  a deliberate  attempt  to 
make  the  position  of  the  United  States  in  “ the  world’s 
great  hereafter”  that  of  a second-rate  pow'er. 

In  short,  the  policy  which  dictated  the  construction  of 
the  Panama  Canal  is  meaningless,  if  it  be  not  accom- 
panied by  a correlated  policy  in  Eastern  Asia.  As  Presi- 
dent Roosevelt  remarked,  the  Canal  when  made  is  to 
last  for  the  ages ; “ it  is  to  alter  the  geography  of  a Con- 


1 12 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


tinent  and  the  trade  routes  of  the  world.”  The  posses- 
sion of  a territory  fraught  with  such  peculiar  capacities 
as  the  Isthmus,  carries  with  it  obligations  to  mankind ; 
and  it  is  equally  true  that  the  existence  of  such  an  entity 
as  the  Chinese  Empire  imposes  peculiar  obligations  on 
the  rest  of  the  world,  and  notably  on  its  neighbor,  the 
United  States.  It  is  long  since  the  preservation  of  the 
integrity  of  China  was  recognized  as  a world  necessity ; 
all  that  has  happened  in  the  last  ten  years,  and  all  that 
is  going  on  before  our  eyes,  only  accentuate  the  truth 
that  the  dismemberment  of  China  would  bring  disaster 
to  no  nation  more  swiftly  and  surely  than  to  this  Re- 
public. President  Roosevelt  characterized  the  Panama 
Canal  as  “ a project  colossal  in  its  size,  and  of  well-nigh 
incalculable  possibilities  for  the  good  of  this  country  and 
the  nations  of  mankind.”  But  the  construction  of  this 
great  waterway  was  surely  not  entirely  dictated  by  the 
necessity  of  furnishing  the  speediest  and  easiest  means  of 
communication  between  two  great  sections  of  our  coun- 
try. If  it  does  not  also  place  the  Atlantic  and  Gulf 
States  in  closer  touch  with  the  great  Pacific  area,  al- 
ready half  girdled  by  American  territory,  it  will  have 
failed  of  the  larger  part  of  its  usefulness  and  be  robbed 
of  the  greater  part  of  its  potentiality  for  profit. 

Twelve  years  ago  when  the  process  of  the  alienation 
of  Chinese  territory  began  to  assume  threatening  pro- 
portions, it  was  argued  with  some  force  that  the  en- 
croachments made  by  Russia  and  Germany  on  Chinese 
sovereignty  called  for  a protest  from  the  United  States, 
because  every  “ lease  ” which  the  Chinese  Government 
makes  of  a part  of  its  territory  to  a foreign  power,  con- 
tracts the  area  within  which  our  treaties  with  China  can 
be  operative-  That  is  to  say,  when  a foreign  sover- 
eignty takes  the  place  of  the  Chinese  at  any  given  point, 
the  treaties  become  to  that  extent  non-existent,  and  our 


AMERICA’S  TRADE  WITH  CHINA  113 


right  to  trade  there  on  equal  terms  with  all  other  nations 
is  wholly  dependent  upon  the  will  of  the  foreign  govern- 
ment. It  was  considerations  like  these  which  underlay 
the  efforts  made  by  Secretary  Hay  to  preserve  the  “ open 
door  ” in  China.  In  a circular  note  to  the  powers  co- 
operating in  China  for  the  suppression  of  the  Boxer  ris- 
ing, dated  July  3,  1900,  the  policy  of  the  United  States 
toward  China  was  thus  briefly  stated:  “To  afford  all 

possible  protection  everywhere  to  foreign  life  and  prop- 
erty ; to  guard  and  protect  all  legitimate  foreign  inter- 
ests ; to  aid  in  preventing  the  spread  of  the  disorders  to 
other  provinces  of  the  Empire  and  a recurrence  of  such 
disorders ; and  to  seek  a solution  which  may  bring  about 
permanent  safety  and  peace  to  China,  preserve  Chinese 
territorial  and  administrative  entity,  protect  all  rights 
guaranteed  by  treaty  and  international  law  to  friendly 
powers,  and  safeguard  for  the  world  the  principle  of 
equal  and  impartial  trade  with  all  parts  of  the  Chinese 
Empire.”  The  disinterested  character  of  American 
policy  toward  China  lent  special  force  to  the  memo- 
randum of  March  i,  1901,  in  which  Secretary  Hay 
protested  against  the  confirmation  of  a bargain  then  re- 
ported to  be  pending  between  Russia  and  China  in  regard 
to  the  Russian  occupation  of  Manchuria.  It  was 
pointed  out  that  since  all  the  powers  then  engaged  in 
joint  negotiation  over  matters  Chinese  had  recognized 
the  necessity  of  preserving  the  territorial  integrity  of  the 
Empire,  it  was  obviously  advantageous  to  China  to  con- 
tinue the  existing  international  understanding  upon  this 
subject.  Accordingly,  the  Secretary  added : “ It  would 

be  unwise  and  dangerous  in  the  extreme  for  China  to 
make  any  arrangements  or  to  consider  any  proposition 
of  a private  nature,  involving  the  surrender  of  territory 
or  financial  obligations  by  convention  with  any  partic- 
ular power.”  Our  diplomacy  on  this  occasion  went  to 


1 14  CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 

the  utmost  limit  of  peaceful  protest  in  expressing  on 
the  part  of  our  Government-  its  sense  of  the  impropriety, 
inexpediency  and  even  extreme  danger  to  the  interests 
of  China  of  considering  any  private  territorial  or  financial 
arrangements,  at  least  without  the  full  knowledge  and 
approval  of  all  the  Treaty  Powers. 

A year  later,  a still  more  emphatic  protest  was  ad- 
dressed to  the  Russian  and  Chinese  Governments,  and 
the  whole  purpose  of  our  diplomacy  in  China  was  frankly 
avowed  to  be  the  furtherance  of  our  trade.  In  this  note 
of  February  i,  1902,  it  was  declared  that  any  agreement 
whereby  China  gives  any  corporation  or  company  the 
exclusive  right  or  privilege  of  opening  mines,  establish- 
ing railroads,  or  in  any  other  way  industrially  developing 
Manchuria,  could  only  be  viewed  with  the  gravest  con- 
cern by  the  Government  of  the  United  States.  The 
reason  alleged  was  that  such  an  agreement  would  con- 
stitute a monopoly  involving  a distinct  breach  of  the 
stipulations  of  the  treaties  concluded  between  China  and 
foreign  powers,  and  thereby  seriously  affecting  the  rights 
of  American  citizens.  Such  an  agreement  would  restrict 
their  rightful  trade,  exposing  it  to  be  discriminated 
against,  interfered  with,  or  otherwise  jeopardized.  It 
would,  moreover,  strongly  tend  permanently  to  impair 
Chinese  sovereign  rights  in  this  part  of  her  Empire, 
while  seriously  interfering  with  her  ability  to  meet  her 
international  obligations.  Mr.  Hay  perceived  very 
clearly  the  far-reaching  consequences  of  the  struggle  over 
China,  wdiich  was  then  in  progress,  and  while  he  was 
perfectly  aware  that  the  United  States  would  never  resort 
to  war  on  any  such  issue  as  the  arrest  of  the  Russian 
advance  in  North  China,  his  protests  and  his  warnings 
lack  nothing  either  of  frankness  or  decision.  He 
bluntly  informed  the  Russian  Government  that  any  such 
concession  as  it  was  then  seeking  to  extort  from  China 


AMERICA’S  TRADE  WITH  CHINA  115 


would  undoubtedly  be  followed  by  demands  from  other 
powers  for  similar  equally  extensive  advantages  else- 
where in  the  Chinese  Empire,  and  the  inevitable  result 
must  be  the  complete  wreck  of  the  policy  of  absolute 
equality  of  treatment  to  all  nations  respecting  trade, 
navigation  and  commerce,  within  the  confines  of  the 
Empire. 

There  are  critics  of  our  Far  Eastern  policy  who  in- 
sist that,  commercially  speaking,  we  have  been  sowing 
in  a barren  field.  Mr.  Morse  has  clearly  expounded, 
with  all  the  authority  which  comes  from  intimate  knowl- 
edge and  long  experience,  the  history  and  economics  of 
the  foreign  trade  of  China.  Of  the  future  of  that  trade 
it  is  possible  to  indulge  in  the  most  sanguine  or  in  the 
most  pessimistic  expectations,  according  to  the  point  of 
view  of  the  observer.  There  is  the  broad  fact  of  a 
people  numbering  some  four  hundred  millions,  whose 
rank  and  file  are  recognized  as  the  most  capable  in- 
dustrial units  in  the  world,  occupying  a territory,  in- 
cluding Mongolia,  of  four  million  square  miles,  possess- 
ing all  the  resources  that  go  to  make  nations  rich,  but 
whose  foreign  trade  amounts  to  only  a dollar  per  head  of 
the  population.  There  is  surely  a tremendous  margin 
for  increase  here,  and  it  is  perhaps  natural  to  e.xpect, 
with  China’s  new  hospitality  for  Western  ideas,  that  her 
trade  should  grow  by  leaps  and  bounds.  In  the  case 
of  China’s  eastern  neighbor,  the  development  of  com- 
merce under  the  stimulus  of  a more  progressive  type  of 
civilization,  has  been  sufficiently  remarkable.  The  new 
era  in  Japan  is  less  than  forty  years  old,  and  as  recently 
as  1878  the  foreign  commerce  of  the  country  amounted 
to  less  than  60,000,000  yen,  or  $30,000,000.  But  in  1898 
it  was  over  440,000,000  yen,  and  by  1908,  which  was  a 
bad  year  in  Japan  as  elsewffiere,  a total  of  814,500,000  yen 
was  attained.  The  average  foreign  trade  of  Japan  for 


Ii6 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


the  last  five  years  has  been  equal  to  about  $io  per  head 
of  the  population,  Japan  is  a much  poorer  country 
than  China,  but,  obviously,  were  the  combined  exports 
and  imports  of  China  to  be  in  proportion  to  those  of 
Japan,  it  would  be  able  to  show  a foreign  trade  of 
$4,000,000,000. 

After  listening  to  Mr.  Morse,  you  will  begin  to  under- 
stand why  it  is  too  soon  to  expect  the  experience  of 
Japan  to  be  duplicated  in  China,  and  you  will  appreciate 
the  necessity  of  keeping  the  expectations  of  China’s 
foreign  trade  within  modest  bounds.  But  the  increase 
in  the  foreign  trade  of  the  Middle  Kingdom  is  not  with- 
out its  impressiveness.  In  1864,  its  total  value  was 
$153,000,000;  in  1874,  $198,000,000;  and  by  1890,  it  had 
gone  to  $270,000,000.  In  1901  this  trade  was  valued 
at  $310,000,000,  and  last  year,  albeit  business  was  de- 
pressed, it  amounted  to  $436,000,000.  There  are  two 
considerations  adverted  to  by  Mr.  Morse  which  must  be 
borne  in  mind  in  dealing  with  these  figures.  One  is  that 
the  Haikwan  Tael,  in  which  the  value  of  all  imports  and 
exports  is  stated,  is  merely  a given  weight  of  silver,  and 
therefore  varies  in  value  with  the  fluctuations  in  the  price 
of  silver.  But  if  the  actual  increase  in  commerce  may 
not  be  so  great  as  the  increase  in  value,  measured  by 
Haikwan  Taels,  would  indicate,  the  further  fact  is  to  be 
taken  into  account  that  many  articles,  both  of  import  and 
export,  have  decreased  materially  in  value  during  the 
period  covered  by  our  comparison. 

The  share  of  the  United  States  in  this  trade  has  been 
a steadily  growing  one.  It  amounted  to  $21,000,000  in 
1888,  $30,000,000  in  1898,  and  $48,000,000  in  1908.  In 
other  words,  in  the  ten  years  in  which  the  trade  of  China 
has  grown  40  per  cent.,  our  American  share  of  it  has 
increased  60  per  cent.  In  the  decline  of  the  value  of  im- 
ports into  China  last  year,  all  countries  shared  except 


AMERICA’S  TRADE  WITH  CHINA  117 


the  United  States  and  Russia.  The  objection  is  some- 
times made  that  with  the  development  of  manufactures 
in  China,  our  possibilities  of  selling  her  the  products  of 
our  own  looms  and  factories  must  diminish.  But  it  hap- 
pens that  our  share  in  the  foreign  trade  of  Japan  has 
steadily  increased  side  by  side  with  the  development  of 
Japan  into  a manufacturing  nation.  Our  proportion  of 
Japan’s  foreign  trade  in  1881  was  5.72  per  cent.;  by  1898 
it  had  grown  to  14.57  per  cent.,  and  reached  24  per  cent, 
in  1908.  According  to  the  Financial  and  Economic 
Annual  of  Japan,  the  United  States  takes  the  lead  among 
the  countries  participating  in  its  foreign  trade  with  ex- 
ports and  imports  amounting  to  2ii,cxx),ooo  yen,  followed 
at  almost  equal  distances  by  China  with  144,000,000  yen 
and  Great  Britain  with  138,000,000  yen. 

These  figures  may  at  least  dispose  of  the  common  but 
no  less  transparent  fallacy,  that  the  growth  of  our  ex- 
ports to  any  given  nation  may  be  injuriously  affected  by 
the  material  development  and  growth  in  the  wealth  of 
that  nation.  This  fallacy  was  dealt  with  in  his  char- 
acteristically direct  and  vigorous  fashion  by  President, 
then  Secretary  Taft,  in  a notable  speech  delivered  on 
his  visit  to  Shanghai  in  October,  1907.  He  declared  on 
that  occasion  that  he  was  not  one  of  those  who  viewed 
with  alarm  the  effect  of  the  growth  of  China,  with  her 
teeming  millions,  into  a great  industrial  empire.  He  be- 
lieved that  this  instead  of  injuring  foreign  trade  with 
China  would  greatly  increase  it,  and  while  it  might 
change  its  character  in  some  respects,  it  would  not 
diminish  its  profits,  and  he  added  that  “ a trade  which 
depends  for  its  profits  on  the  backwardness  of  a people 
in  developing  their  owm  resources  and  upon  their  inability 
to  value  at  the  proper  relative  prices  that  which  they  have 
to  sell  and  that  which  they  have  to  buy,  is  not  one  that 
can  be  counted  upon  as  stable  or  permanent.”  Nor  did 


Ii8  CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 

it  seem  to  Mr.  Taft  that  the  cry  of  “ China  for  the 
Chinese,”  should  frighten  anyone.  As  he  regarded  the 
matter,  that  merely  signified  that  China  should  devote 
her  energies  to  the  development  of  her  immense  re- 
sources, to  the  elevation  of  her  industrious  people,  to  the 
enlargement  of  her  trade,  and  to  the  administrative  re- 
form of  the  Empire  as  a great  national  government. 
Since  our  greatest  export  trade  is  with  the  countries 
most  advanced  in  business  methods  and  in  the  develop- 
ment of  their  individual  resources,  changes  of  this  kind 
could  only  increase  our  trade  with  China. 

But  the  fact  remains  that  neither  our  trade  with  China 
nor  that  of  any  other  nation  can  be  placed  on  a satis- 
factory basis  while  China  neglects  the  internal  reforms 
that  are  needed  to  enable  her  to  hold  the  place  which 
belongs  to  her  among  the  nations  of  the  world.  As 
Professor  Jenks  will  tell  you,  there  can  be  no  real  prog- 
ress in  China  while  the  currency  of  the  country  remains 
in  its  present  demoralized  condition.  At  no  point  can 
division  of  authority  be  more  fatal  than  in  determining 
the  standard  of  a nation’s  coinage  and  providing  the 
basis  of  security  for  its  circulating  notes.  The  most 
serious  problem  at  present  confronting  China,  is  how  to 
bring  about  the  subordination  of  Provincial  to  National 
interests ; how  to  secure  for  the  Government  at  Peking 
sufficient  power  and  resources  to  enable  it  to  discharge 
the  obligations  it  has  assumed  by  treaties  with  the  other 
nations  of  the  world.  On  the  success  with  which 
efficiency,  responsibility  and  authority  become  recognized 
attributes  of  the  Central  Government  of  China,  must  de- 
pend the  future  history  of  the  Empire.  As  Mr.  Taft 
put  the  case  at  Shanghai : “ A nation  of  the  conserva- 

tive traditions  of  China  must  accept  changes  gradually, 
but  it  is  a pleasure  to  know  and  to  say  that  in  every  im- 
provement which  she  aims  at  she  has  the  deep  sympathy 


AMERICA’S  TRADE  WITH  CHINA  119 


of  America,  and  that  there  never  can  be  any  jealousy  or 
fear  on  the  part  of  the  United  States  due  to  China’s  in- 
dustrial or  political  development,  provided  always  that  it 
is  directly  along  the  lines  of  peaceful  prosperity  and  the 
maintenance  of  law  and  order,  and  the  rights  of  the  in- 
dividual, native  or  foreign.  She  has  no  territory  we 
long  for,  and  can  have  no  prosperity  which  we  would 
grudge  her,  and  no  political  power  and  independence 
as  an  empire,  justly  exercised,  which  we  would  resent. 
With  her  enormous  resources,  and  with  her  industrious 
people,  the  possibilities  of  her  future  cannot  be  over- 
stated.” 


VII 


MONETARY  CONDITIONS  IN  CHINA 

The  present  conditions  in  China  from  many  points  of 
view  are  most  encouraging;  and  yet  in  many  instances 
the  encouragement  seems  to  come  from  the  fact  that 
conditions  appear  most  desperate.  There  is  no  doubt  that 
for  most  of  the  time  during  the  last  six  or  eight  years 
there  has  been  a steady  progress  toward  the  adoption  of 
Western  ideas.  Western  education  is  making  progress; 
there  is  a considerable  extension  of  railways;  the  tele- 
graph is  much  more  generally  used ; there  is  a real  be- 
ginning of  a modern  post-office  system ; and  perhaps 
best  of  all,  the  temper  of  the  officials  and  of  the  people 
seems  to  demand  progress.  And  yet  the  problems  are 
very  grave ; so  grave  that  they  must  soon  be  solved,  and 
China  can  solve  them.  Most  noteworthy  of  all,  perhaps, 
is  the  financial  weakness.  Foreigners  resident  in  China, 
who  seem  to  be  close  in  touch  with  governmental  affairs, 
and  newspaper  writers  who  are  generally  very  well  in- 
formed, do  not  hesitate  to  predict  disaster  unless  improve- 
ment is  made  in  the  near  future.  I may  perhaps  ven- 
ture to  quote  a few  words  from  letters. 

“ The  new  government  is  not  being  such  a great  suc- 
cess as  was  hoped  for.  . . . The  whole  government 

is  drifting  toward  trouble.  . . . Besides  the  drift- 

ing do-nothing  policy  of  the  government,  the  greatest 
danger  to  China  to-day,  in  my  opinion,  is  the  ease  with 
which  she  can  borrow  foreign  capital.  They  are  at  it  all 
the  time ; the  imperial  government,  the  provincial  govern- 
ments, the  different  boards  in  Peking,  etc.,  and  but  little 


I2I 


122 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


of  this  money  is  used  for  the  object  specified  when  the 
loan  was  made.  God  knows  where  it  goes  to  and  where 
the  interest  will  come  from.  . . . All  of  the  revenues 

are  much  less  than  at  any  time  during  the  last  fifteen 
years,  and  with  the  reduction  in  the  opium  crop,  will  be 
much  smaller.  I do  not  see  how  the  result  can  be  any- 
thing but  the  appointment  in  the  end  of  an  international 
financial  board  to  take  charge  of  the  revenues  and  ad- 
minister them  the  same  as  was  done  in  Egypt.  It  will 
surely  come  to  this  unless  the  Chinese  Government  gets 
some  reliable  financial  adviser  and  follows  his  advice. 
Whatever  they  do,  affairs  were  never  in  a more  critical 
and  serious  condition  and  the  imminence  of  a revolution 
was  never  greater.  The  army  is  not  being  paid,  the 
discipline  is  slack  and  more  slack,  and  the  soldiers  boast 
that  Yuan  Shih-kai  is  the  only  chief  who  paid  them  one 
hundred  cents  to  the  dollar.  All  of  the  above  is  not  a 
scare-head  of  my  own.  The  better  class  of  Chinese  and 
most  of  the  legations  feel  the  same  and  talk  about  it.” 

The  same  prediction  regarding  an  international 
financial  board  appeared  in  the  London  Times,  accom- 
panied by  statements  showing  how  almost  impossible  it 
seemed  to  be  for  the  Government  to  meet  its  obligations. 
There  can  be  little  doubt  that  if  China  should  fail  to 
meet  the  interest  on  her  foreign  debts  when  it  was  due, 
the  question  of  control  that  would  amount  to  a financial 
receivership,  would  immediately  be  raised.  Nothing 
could  be  worse  for  China  than  any  result  of  this  kind, 
and  everything  possible  should  be  done  to  prevent  it. 

In  the  opinion  of  most  people,  no  single  step  could 
be  taken  which  would  tend  so  strongly  toward  placing 
the  Government  on  a financial  basis,  and  removing  also 
many  administrative  difficulties,  as  the  reform  of  the 
monetary  system.  The  state  of  chaos  in  which  that  re- 
mains, and  which  seems  to  be  getting  worse  as  time 


MONETARY  CONDITIONS  IN  CHINA  123 


goes  on,  increases  the  temptation  for  the  officials  to  make 
use  of  the  " squeeze  ” in  their  dealings  with  the  people, 
while  at  the  same  time  the  varying  exchange  lessens  the 
revenue  that  is  received  into  the  government  treasury.  It 
is  therefore  well  worth  while  to  consider  seriously  the 
monetary  conditions  and  to  study  somewhat  the  methods 
to  improve  them. 

The  evils  of  the  system  are  so  well  known  that  one 
need  not  give  many  details.  It  is  perhaps  sufficient  to 
say  for  the  benefit  of  those  who  are  not  familiar  witli 
Chinese  conditions,  that  the  so-called  unit  of  the  .sys- 
tem, the  tael,  means  merely  a certain  weight  of  silver: 
that  this  weight  varies  in  different  provinces,  and  even 
in  different  districts  and  cities,  so  that  there  are  scores 
of  them  in  China,  there  being  no  single  standard. 
Usually  in  making  payments  in  taels,  they  must  be 
weighed  out  as  so  much  butter  would  be.  In  certain 
localities,  however,  particularly  where  there  are  many 
foreigners,  instead  of  these  weights  of  silver,  the  taels, 
coins  called  dollars  are  used.  In  some  places  these  are 
the  Mexican  dollars ; in  others,  they  are  dollars  coined 
by  the  different  provinces  at  a weight  substantially  equal 
to  that  of  the  Mexican  dollar.  Many  of  the  mints,  how- 
ever, have  not  maintained  the  standard  accurately,  so 
that  the  coins  of  some  provinces  are  not  received  in  other 
provinces  except  at  a discount ; and  in  all  cases  these 
coins  depend  for  their  value  largely  upon  the  value  of 
silver  bullion. 

For  small  transactions  cash,  that  is,  copper  coins,  are 
used.  These  also  differ  greatly  in  kind,  and  the  system 
of  counting  them  varies  in  different  localities.  A few 
years  ago  several  of  the  provinces  started  the  coinage 
of  ten  cash  pieces  in  order  that  they  might  make  a profit 
from  the  coins.  Finding  this  business  was  adding  to 
their  revenue,  they  issued  more  and  more,  until  they 


124 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


have  been  very  greatly  depreciated,  with  the  usual  dis- 
turbance to  prices  and  wages. 

There  are  very  many  banks,  foreign  and  native,  and 
small  cash  shops  that  make  their  profits  from  changing 
these  various  kinds  of  currency  from  one  to  the  other. 
Bank  notes  are  issued  in  both  taels  and  dollars,  and  even 
in  the  small  cash,  some  of  the  little  cash  shops  issuing 
private  notes  for  sums  of  only  a few  cents.  With  no 
inspection  in  many  cases,  little  care  is  taken  to  keep  a 
reserve  of  specie  back  of  these  bank  notes,  so  that  beyond 
the  immediate  locality  in  which  they  are  issued  they 
have  little  currency.  The  only  way  in  which  the  matter 
can  be  summed  up  is  by  the  use  of  the  word  “ chaos.” 

The  ill  effect  of  this  lack  of  system  upon  business  can 
be  readily  appreciated.  The  Chinese  Government  must 
pay  its  foreign  obligations  in  gold.  Its  revenues  are 
largely  collected  in  silver  or  in  copper  at  some  rate  of 
exchange  with  silver.  Of  late  silver  has  been  much  de- 
preciated in  value  as  compared  with  gold,  so  that  there 
has  been  a steady  lessening  of  the  revenues  in  terms  of 
gold,  and  at  the  same  time  the  Government  has  assured 
the  people  at  various  times  that  their  taxes  would  not  be 
raised.  The  result  is  that  the  Government  is  continually 
striving  to  find  some  means  of  raising  revenues  which 
seem  to  be  different  from  a regular  increase  in  taxes. 

Besides  the  Government  debt  payments,  however,  im- 
ports from  foreign  countries  must  generally  be  paid  for 
in  gold,  while  the  products  of  China  which  are  to  be  ex- 
ported, though  paid  for  in  silver  within  the  country,  are 
to  be  sold  abroad  at  gold  rates.  The  result  is  that  all 
international  trade  is  highly  speculative,  and  the  thought 
of  the  merchants  must  be  largely  upon  the  rates  of  ex- 
change, rather  than  upon  the  quality  of  their  goods  and 
the  normal  prices. 

The  internal  trade  also  is  greatly  hampered  by  the 


MONETARY  CONDITIONS  IN  CHINA  125 


varying  kinds  of  taels  and  of  cash,  and  the  changing  rates 
of  exchange  among  them,  to  say  nothing  of  the  tolls  that 
are  taken  by  the  cash  shops  and  the  bankers. 

For  the  last  few  years  the  price  of  silver  has  been 
falling,  so  that  now  the  rate  of  exchange  is  much  lower 
than  it  was  in  earlier  years.  Some  writers  and  business 
men  are  of  the  opinion  that  a declining  rate  of  exchange 
or  even  a low  rate  of  exchange,  stimulates  the  export 
trade,  and  in  consequence  is  a good  thing  for  a country. 
One  man  who  seemed  to  think  that  he  was  a friend  of 
China,  stated  not  long  since  that  he  would  like  to  see 
China  on  a silver  basis,  but  all  other  countries  on  a gold 
basis,  inasmuch  as  China  w’ould  profit  thereby,  appar- 
ently for  the  reason  given  above.  This  view  that  a de- 
clining rate  of  exchange  benefits  a country  because  it 
stimulates  exports,  is  mistaken.  Doubtless  as  the  rate  of 
exchange  lowers  so  that  more  silver  dollars  are  required 
to  equal  in  value  one  dollar  in  gold,  prices  of  products  in 
the  silver  country  would  tend  to  increase  slightly  in  terms 
of  silver;  but  the  stimulus  to  export  comes  also  in  part 
from  the  added  foreign  demand  caused  by  the  fact  that 
the  gold  price  is  declining.  To  pay  for  a fixed  quantity 
of  products  produced  in  the  gold  country,  it  will  take  a 
steadily  increasing  quantity  of  the  products  produced  in 
the  silver  country,  if  the  price  of  silver  steadily  depre- 
ciates. This  doubtless  increases  the  exports,  but  the 
trade,  looked  at  in  terms  of  living,  is  less  profitable  for 
the  silver  country  nevertheless.  Although  the  wages  in 
the  silver  country  may  remain  the  same,  or  may  even 
slightly  increase  in  terms  of  silver  money,  if  reckoned 
in  terms  of  purchasing  power  of  products  produced  in 
the  gold  country,  they  are  declining.  It  can  hardly  be 
said  that  the  stimulation  of  the  export  trade  at  the  ex- 
pense of  a steady  loss  in  quantity  of  products  received 
for  a fixed  quantity  exported,  is  a gain  to  the  country. 


126 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


A careful  statistical  study  of  the  exports  and  imports 
of  the  leading  products  of  Mexico  for  a number  of  years 
during  the  time  that  the  value  of  silver  or  gold  as  com- 
pared with  silver  was  declining,  establishes  this  fact  be- 
yond question  so  far  as  Mexico  is  concerned ; thus  ex- 
perience seems  to  tally  with  reason.  Some  careful 
studies  were  also  made  by  Mr.  Hippisley  regarding  the 
imports  and  exports  of  China  at  various  periods  when 
the  price  of  the  tael  was  changing  rapidly.  The  results 
seem  to  show  that  it  is  impossible  to  establish  the  fact 
that  China  has  made  any  real  gains  from  the  declining 
value  of  silver.  The  implication  is  clearly  the  other  way. 
And  yet  it  may  possibly  be  that  individual  merchants  have 
increased  their  export  trade  to  a considerable  degree,  and 
it  is  possible  that  they  also  have  made  larger  profits. 

It  is  also  possible  that  a low  rate  of  exchange  in  a 
country  where  wages  are  low,  may  in  some  degree, 
tempt  foreign  capital  to  come  into  the  country.  This  in 
itself  is  a good  thing,  provided  there  is  no  compensating 
loss.  It  is  clearly  a better  thing,  however,  for  condi- 
tions to  be  such  that  real  wages  in  terms  of  purchasing 
power  will  be  increased,  and  the  general  standard  of  liv- 
ing of  the  people  raised,  rather  than  that  foreign  capital 
be  tempted  into  the  country  to  exploit  it  by  sending  out 
increasing  quantities  of  exports  for  a fixed  quantity  of 
imports. 

Enough  has  been  said  perhaps  regarding  the  evils  of 
the  present  system  on  the  silver  basis  with  the  fluctuating 
rates  of  exchange.  The  question  remains,  what  can  best 
be  done? 

( I ) All  authorities  are  agreed  that  the  most  important 
step  to  be  taken  is  to  secure  one  uniform  system  so 
that  everywhere  throughout  China,  the  various  coins,  from 
the  smallest  in  value  to  the  greatest,  shall  be  interchange- 
able at  fixed  rates.  The  only  people  who  would  be  op- 


MONETARY  CONDITIONS  IN  CHINA  127 


posed  to  such  a reform  would  be  the  owners  of  the  cash 
shops,  and  possibly  of  the  smaller  banks  who  are  making 
their  living  from  exchanges  in  money  due  to  this  lack 
of  uniformity,  and  certain  officials  and  traders  who  can 
more  easily  make  dishonest  “ squeeze.” 

(2)  In  spite  of  what  has  been  said  of  the  few  people 
who  advocate  the  permanent  retention  of  the  silver 
standard  by  China,  most  authorities  agree  that  it  would 
be  best  for  China  to  be  placed  on  the  gold  basis  as  soon 
as  that  is  practicable.  There  is,  however,  an  important 
difference  of  opinion  as  to  whether  China  should  en- 
deavor first  to  establish  a uniform  system  on  the  silver 
basis  and  then  later,  as  opportunity  offers,  go  from  the 
silver  basis  to  the  gold  basis ; or  whether  it  would  be 
wiser  to  establish  the  new  monetary  system  on  the  gold 
basis  from  the  beginning. 

Those  who  favor  the  establishment  of  a uniform  sys- 
tem on  the  silver  basis  urge  two  reasons  for  this  policy : 
first,  that  China  is  poor,  has  not  the  gold  necessary  to 
establish  a gold  system  and  cannot  secure  the  gold  with- 
out incurring  a heavy  debt;  and  second,  that  even  if  she 
were  to  secure  gold  at  the  present  time,  it  would  prob- 
ably not  be  possible  for  her  to  keep  it,  as  they  think  the 
balance  of  trade  is  against  her,  and  the  gold  would  be 
certainly  exported  to  pay  for  the  excess  of  imports  over 
exports. 

The  Commission  on  International  Exchange,  the 
American  Commission  that  investigated  this  subject  when 
the  Government  of  China,  requested  that  of  the  United 
States  to  assist  in  giving  to  China  a gold  standard  cur- 
rency, recommended  a monetary  system  on  what  it  called 
the  gold  exchange  basis  instead  of  the  gold  basis.  In 
brief,  the  difference  between  the  two  systems  is  this : A 
country  on  the  gold  basis  regularly  has  gold  coins  for 
the  standard  currency,  which  are  regularly  in  circula- 


128 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


tion  among  the  people.  As  fractional  currency  these 
countries  have  silver,  nickel  and  copper  coins,  these 
usually  being  token  coins  circulating  at  a value  consider- 
ably above  their  bullion  value. 

A country  that  has  a gold  exchange  system  such  as 
the  Philippines,  or  India,  or  the  Straits  Settlements,  does 
not  coin  gold  and  place  it  in  circulation  within  the  coun- 
try. It  has  instead  a standard  silver  coin  of  full  legal 
tender,  a token  coin,  circulating  at  a value  considerably 
above  its  value  as  bullion  and  maintained  at  this  value 
on  a fixed  parity  with  gold.  The  fractional  coins  are 
likewise  all  maintained  at  a fixed  parity  with  one  another 
with  the  standard  silver  coin  and  with  gold.  The  gold 
standard  unit  is  not  a coin  for  circulation,  but  a fixed 
quantity  of  gold  with  which  the  value  of  the  silver  coins 
can  readily  be  compared,  and  with  which  they  are  main- 
tained at  a fixed  rate. 

In  a country  that  is  accustomed  to  the  use  of  silver 
and  particularly  in  a country  where  the  standard  of  living 
is  low,  and  many  of  the  transactions  are  on  a verj'  small 
scale,  silver  is  more  convenient  for  circulation  than  gold, 
and  the  people  in  the  Far  East  are,  generally  speaking, 
accustomed  to  that.  Gold  under  those  conditions  is  not 
needed  at  all  for  domestic  use,  but  is  needed  only  to  pay 
for  products  imported  from  gold  standard  countries,  or 
to  pay  obligations  due  to  gold  standard  countries.  Under 
those  circumstances,  it  is  sufficient  if  a resident  of  the 
country  wishes  to  secure  gold  from  the  Government  or 
from  a national  bank,  to  which  has  been  given  the  gen- 
eral oversight  of  the  monetary  system,  to  furnish  him, 
instead  of  the  actual  gold,  a bill  of  exchange  payable  in 
gold  in  the  foreign  country  where  the  obligation  is  due. 
The  standard  silver  coins  can  be  paid  in  to  the  treasury 
or  to  the  bank  at  their  par  value,  and  the  bill  of  exchange 
sold  for  the  usual  commercial  rates  or  for  a charge 


MONETARY  CONDITIONS  IN  CHINA  129 


slightly  above  those  rates,  if  it  is  thought  best  for  the 
Goveniment  not  regularly  to  intervene  in  ordinary  busi- 
ness transactions,  but  to  take  part  in  such  trans- 
actions only  when  it  is  necessary  to  maintain  the 
parity  of  the  silver  coins.  It  will  readily  be  seen  that 
this  selling  of  gold  exchange  at  a fixed  rate,  to  be  paid 
for  in  the  silver  coins,  would  have  the  same  effect  toward 
maintaining  the  parity  of  the  coins  with  gold  as  would 
the  delivery  of  the  actual  gold  for  shipment,  provided 
the  rate  of  exchange  charged  were  the  same.  Even  if 
it  were  a fraction  of  one  per  cent,  higher,  this  would 
not  be  sufficient  to  affect  in  any  way  the  value  of  the 
silver  coins  in  local  trade. 

There  are  several  advantages  for  a country  like  China 
of  the  gold  exchange  system  as  compared  with  the  gold 
system.  In  the  first  place,  as  has  already  been  intimated, 
a silver  currency  is  better  adapted  to  the  standard  of  liv- 
ing and  the  ordinary  customs  of  trade  of  the  country. 
Second,  it  is  very  much  cheaper,  and  in  a country  con- 
stituted as  is  China  at  the  present  time,  this  is  very  im- 
portant. Not  nearly  so  much  gold  would  be  needed  to 
maintain  the  parity  of  the  silver  coins  in  this  way  as 
would  be  needed  for  circulation  within  the  country  itself. 
Third,  there  would  be  much  less  likelihood  of  the  gold 
reserve,  which  in  either  case  is  necessary  for  the  main- 
tenance of  the  parity  of  the  silver  coin,  being  exhausted 
if  the  Government  maintains  the  absolute  control  of  its 
reserve  through  this  system  of  selling  exchange.  More- 
over, in  case  there  should  be  a drain  on  the  gold  reserve, 
it  is  much  easier  to  replenish  it.  The  rule  in  the  coun- 
tries maintaining  the  gold  exchange  standard  is  to  with- 
draw from  circulation  the  silver  paid  in  to  the  govern- 
ment treasury  to  purchase  gold  orders  on  a foreign 
country,  in  order  that  any  tendency  toward  over-issue  of 
the  silver  coins  may  thus  be  checked  and  their  parity  be 


130  CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 

maintained  in  part  by  a normal  adaptation  of  quantity 
in  circulation  to  the  demand.  In  this  way  the  treasury 
adds  to  its  stock  of  silver  whenever  it  depletes  its  stock 
of  gx)ld,  and  although  if  the  coins  are  token  coins  the 
amount  thus  collected  in  the  treasury  would  be  less  in 
bullion  value  by  the  amount  of  seignorage  of  the  coins,  it 
would  still  be  more  than  ample  to  cover  any  possibility 
of  the  exhaustion  of  the  gold  reserve.  By  selling  the 
silver  itself  abroad  as  bullion  if  necessary,  the  country 
could  thus  replenish  its  gold  reserve  abroad.  It  would 
never  be  possible  for  the  business  of  a country  to  go  on 
satisfactorily  with  any  considerable  proportion  of  its 
standard  coins  withdrawn  from  circulation.  Their  value 
would  surely  go  up  so  promptly  as  to  prevent  any  serious 
drain  on  the  gold  reserve. 

Another  very  great  advantage  in  the  establishment  of 
the  gold  exchange  standard  from  the  beginning,  is  that 
a very  large  profit,  amounting  to  scores  of  millions  of 
dollars,  would  be  made  by  China  if  the  gold  exchange 
standard  were  adopted  at  once,  which  would  be  lost 
entirely  if  the  system  were  established  first  on  a uniform 
silver  basis  which  afterward  was  to  be  changed  to  gold. 
When  the  system  is  fully  established  on  the  gold  basis, 
the  silver  coins  in  either  event  will  be  token  coins  of  a 
value  presumably  from  20  to  40  per  cent,  below  their  face 
value.  If  issued  at  that  rate,  in  the  case  of  a country 
so  populous  as  China,  this  means,  of  course,  an  enormous 
profit.  Most,  if  not  all,  of  this  profit  should  be  used  to 
purchase  gold  to  maintain  the  parity  of  the  coins,  al- 
though eventually,  when  the  system  is  thoroughly  estab- 
lished, it  is  possible  that  not  all  of  this  seignorage  would 
be  needed  for  that  purpose. 

Moreover,  if  the  coins  when  issued,  were  issued  at  par, 
there  would  be  no  disturbance  to  the  business  of  the 


MONETARY  CONDITIONS  IN  CHINA  131 


'country  such  as  that  which  comes  from  a shifting  of  the 
monetary  standard.  On  the  other  hand,  if  they  were 
issued  at  their  bullion  value  and  then  afterward  gradually 
raised  from  20  to  30  per  cent,  above  that  value,  it  would 
certainly  produce  the  business  depression  that  regularly 
comes  from  a contracting  currency  and  falling  prices, 
an  effect  upon  business  which  would  probably  need  to  be 
continued  over  a period  of  years,  and  which,  beyond 
doubt,  would  be  a serious  blow  to  industry.  If  one 
wishes  to  get  the  benefit  of  e.xperience  in  this  direction, 
let  him  compare  the  relatively  little  disturbance  to  busi- 
ness in  the  Philippines  of  the  introduction  of  their  new 
monetary  system,  and  particularly  the  total  absence  of 
disturbance  of  business  from  the  change  in  the  monetary 
system,  when  new  coins  of  lighter  weight  were  intro- 
duced, with  the  disturbance  in  India  and  especially  in  the 
Straits  Settlements  when  their  new  systems  were  placed 
on  the  gold  basis.  The  experience  of  these  countries, 
as  well  as  reason,  seems  to  make  it  clear  that  it  would 
be  much  wiser  for  China  in  establishing  the  new  system, 
to  adopt  the  gold  exchange  system,  and  especially  to  issue 
her  new  silver  coins  from  the  beginning  at  a parity  with 
gold. 

There  are,  of  course,  certain  difficulties  in  the  way  of 
the  establishment  of  this  new  monetary  system,  and  these 
difficulties  must  not  be  under-estimated.  In  the  first 
place,  some  of  the  foreign  countries,  the  business  of 
whose  banks  might  be  affected  somewhat,  might  need 
to  be  dealt  with,  although  all  of  the  leading  countries 
have  already  agreed  at  the  instance  of  the  Commission 
on  International  Exchange  that  they  would  welcome  a 
gold  standard  for  China.  If,  however,  in  order  to  estab- 
lish such  a system  on  a firm  basis  it  should  be  necessary 
for  China  to  restrict  rather  carefully  the  provisions  re- 


132 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


garding  the  importation  and  exportation  of  silver  or 
gold  bullion  or  coins,  there  might  be  some  further  ques- 
tion. 

In  the  second  place,  beyond  doubt  many  of  the  Chinese 
officials  who  have  made  large  profits  from  the  fluctua- 
tions and  uncertainties  in  the  values  of  the  different 
coins,  might  be  unwilling  to  see  these  chances  removed. 
The  cash  shops  and  some  of  the  smaller  bankers  would 
probably  also  object  because  their  exchange  business 
would  be  gone.  On  the  other  hand,  the  larger  banks 
would  probably  not  object  to  the  change.  They  might 
well  expect  that  their  loss  in  exchange  would  be  more 
than  offset  by  their  increased  business  in  loans  and  dis- 
counts. Such  seems  to  have  been  the  experience,  at  any 
rate,  of  the  foreign  banks  in  Japan  upon  the  establish- 
ment of  her  new  monetary  system  on  the  gold  basis. 

There  are  also  some  people  who  delight  in  specula- 
. tion  and  whose  interest  in  other  mercantile  business  is 
largely  dependent  upon  its  speculative  aspects.  These 
also  might  deplore  the  change.  On  the  other  hand,  all 
those  people,  Chinese  and  foreigners  alike,  who  have 
the  real  welfare  of  China  at  heart,  certainly  wish  the 
establishment  of  the  best  monetary  system  possible,  and 
those  who  have  given  most  study  to  the  subject  are 
agreed  that  as  soon  as  it  is  practicable  that  system  should 
be  established  on  the  gold  basis.  It  is  the  belief  of  the 
writer  that  the  establishment  of  a gold  exchange  system 
would  be  practicable  immediately  from  the  economic 
point  of  view.  He  also  hopes  that  from  the  political 
point  of  view  there  need  not  be  a long  delay  before  the 
establishment  of  such  a system. 


VIII 


THE  PRESENT  SITUATION  IN  MANCHURIA 
—COMMERCE,  TRADE,  AND  INTER- 
NATIONAL POLITICS 

The  history  of  the  Far  East  for  some  years  to  come 
depends  upon  the  fate  of  Manchuria.  Shall  China  here 
be  allowed  peacefully  to  develop,  to  consolidate  her 
strength  and  to  work  out  her  own  salvation  free  from 
alien  interference,  or  will  Japan,  poor  in  resources  but 
rich  in  disciplined  efficiency,  be  successful  in  her  en- 
deavor politically  to  dominate  and  to  direct  the  com- 
mercial growth  of  her  continental  neighbor?  That  is  the 
Eastern  Question. 

In  the  old  days  when  Tartars  fought  Koreans  in  the 
mountains  north  of  Tumen  and  Yalu,  when  the  valley 
of  the  Sungari  was  ruled  by  the  Kin  Dynasty  before  the 
conquests  of  Genghis  Khan,  history  was  made  in  the 
region  now  known  as  the  “ Three  Eastern  Provinces.” 
Later,  when  the  last  of  the  Mings  ruled  feebly  at  Peking, 
Nurhachu,  first  with  but  a small  band,  then  with  an 
army  of  sturdy  mountaineers,  defeated  the  Chinese 
forces  east  of  the  Liao  and  set  up  his  standard  at  Muk- 
den. His  sons,  sweeping  all  before  them,  occupied  the 
Dragon  Throne.  Nearly  three  hundred  years  passed  by 
during  which  the  conquerors,  fearful  lest  they  lose  their 
prize,  were  scattered  throughout  China,  and  the  fertile 
but  war-blighted  plain  of  the  Liao  settled  afresh  by  im- 
migrants from  “ within  the  wall.”  ^ During  this  period 

1 Points  to  the  south  and  west  of  Shanhaikuan  where  the 
Great  Wall  of  China  meets  the  sea  are  called  “ within  the 
wall.” 


133 


134 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


little  was  heard  of  Manchuria,  and  though  a “ second 
capital  ” with  its  five  “ great  Boards,”  Rites,  Works, 
Treasury,  War,  and  Punishments  was  maintained  at 
Mukden,  the  three  provinces  were  loosely  administered 
by  Tartar  Generals — military  governors — with  more  re- 
gard for  the  purses  of  the  officials  than  the  welfare  of 
the  people  or  the  development  of  the  country. 

During  the  Chino-Japanese  War  in  1894-5  there  was 
some  fighting  about  Haicheng  and  Newchwang  in  south- 
ern Manchuria,  and  Japan  after  her  victory  received  a 
grant  of  territory  embracing  the  Liaotung  peninsula  and 
its  hinterland.  Through  the  intervention  of  Russia, 
France,  and  Germany,  however,  this  was  ceded  back  to 
China  in  return  for  a handsome  indemnity.  Japan  ousted, 
Russia  took  her  place  first,  in  1896,  securing  the  conces- 
sion for  a railway  through  Central  Manchuria,  then  the 
lease  of  Port  Arthur,  and  the  right  to  build  a line  from 
Harbin  to  Dalny.  During  the  unsettled  years  that  fol- 
lowed the  Boxer  uprising  of  1900,  Russia’s  influence  was 
extended,  and  her  failure  to  complete  the  evacuation  of 
Chinese  territory — Newchwang  and  neighboring  towns — 
in  October,  1903,  brought  on  the  crisis  which  culminated 
in  the  war  with  Japan. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  dwell  upon  the  history  of  that 
struggle.  Russia  desired  an  ice-free  port.  More  than 
that,  she  wished  to  retain  under  her  control  the  northern 
portion  of  Korea.  In  this  Japan  refused  to  acquiesce,  for 
it  was  imperative  that  she  break  the  strategic  line  between 
Port  Arthur  and  Vladivostok.  Japan  to-day  holds 
Korea  while  her  railway  from  Kuangchengtzu  to  Port 
Arthur  gives  her  a splendid  political  and  commercial 
pied  a terre  in  southern  Manchuria.  Russia,  on  the  other 
hand,  still  has  her  line  from  Manchuria  station  to  Pro- 
granichnaya,  with  its  southern  branch  from  Harbin  to 
Kuangchengtzu,  and  China  has  now  undertaken  the  diffi- 


THE  SITUATION  IN  MANCHURIA  135 


cult  task  of  attempting  to  establish  an  efficient  adminis- 
tration in  a territory  over  whose  most  important  com- 
munications she  has  no  control. 

The  three  Manchurian  provinces,  Fengtien,  Kirin,  and 
Heilungchiang,  contain  respectively  60,000,  110,000,  and 
190,000  square  miles.  Fengtien,  the  southermost  prov- 
ince, is  the  best  settled  and  most  fully  developed  of  the 
three,  with  a population  of  about  8,000,000;  Kirin  having 
but  4,000,000;  and  Hailungchiang  only  1,500,000  inhab- 
itants; a total  population  of  13,500,000,  in  a region  which, 
if  the  Chinese  provinces  of  Chihli  and  Shantung  may 
serve  as  a criterion,  should  support  at  least  130,000,000 
persons. 

Only  the  southwestern,  central  southern  and  eastern 
portions  of  Manchuria  are  at  present  under  cultivation, 
the  valley  of  the  Liao  being  well  tilled  and  the  banks  of 
the  Sungari  fairly  so.  The  annual  grain  production, 
however,  has  been  roughly  valued  at  about  $40,000,000 
gold.  The  principal  crops  are  beans,  sorghum,  millet 
(kaoliang),  small  millet,  maize,  and  barley.  Hemp  and 
tobacco  are  raised  to  meet  local  needs,  and  the  latter  is 
now  used  by  the  British  American  Tobacco  Company  in 
its  Mukden  cigarette  factory. 

Wheat  has  been  grown  along  the  Sungari  and  used  to 
a certain  extent  by  natives,  but  principally  by  Russian 
flour  mills  at  Harbin  and  Blagovestchensk.  There  re- 
main vast  tracts  of  good  wheat  country  in  Kirin  and 
Heilungchiang,  where  the  climate  differs  little  from  that 
of  our  own  State  of  Dakota. 

The  forests  of  Kirin,  covering  between  10,000  and  20,- 
000  square  miles,  have  not  been  exploited.  The  Japanese- 
Chinese  Joint  Timber  Company,  organized  under  Article 
X of  the  Chino-Japanese  Agreement  of  December  22, 
1905,  will  fell  the  timber  along  the  Yalu  River,  in  south- 
eastern Manchuria,  but  the  wooded  tracts  to  the  north. 


136 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


on  the  watersheds  of  the  Sungari  and  Mudan,  and  on 
the  Chinese  bank  of  the  Ussuri  River,  are  still  practically 
in  their  virgin  state. 

Coal  has  thus  far  been  given  the  most  intelligent  at- 
tention. The  Fushun  colliery,  operated  by  the  Japanese 
South  Manchurian  railway,  and  the  Penhsihu  mine,  on 
the  Mukden-Antung  route,  are  now  worked  by  modern 
methods.  The  Yentai  mine,  opened  by  Russians,  has 
been  left  untouched  thus  far  by  Japanese.  There  are 
native  workings  near  Liaoyang  and  Tiehling  in  Fengtien, 
at  Heilungchiang,  and  in  central  and  southeastern  Kirin, 
and  near  Mergen,  on  the  main  road  to  Aigun  in  Heilung- 
chiang province,  with  small  Russian  mines  near  Kuang- 
chengtzu  and  at  one  or  two  other  points. 

Gold  has  been  discovered  along  the  streams  of  south- 
east Kirin,  on  the  Tumen  and  upper  Yalu,  on  the  banks 
of  the  Mudan  and  Sungari,  and  on  both  the  Chinese  and 
Russian  sides  of  the  Amur,  as  well  as  along  the  Nonni 
River,  which  runs  generally  southward  through  Heilung- 
chiang to  join  the  Sungari. 

Copper  and  silver  mines  have  been  roughly  worked  by 
Chinese,  and  tin,  lead,  asbestos  and  other  minerals  have 
been  discovered. 

Statistics  of  Manchurian  trade  are  unsatisfactory,  ow- 
ing to  the  extraordinary  conditions  that  have  prevailed 
since  1900,  with  the  Boxer  uprising,  the  Russian  occupa- 
tion, and  the  Russo-Japanese  War.  The  total  trade  pass- 
ing through  the  Imperial  maritime  customs  houses  in 
Manchuria  during  the  year  1907  amounted  to  $37,015,- 
808.25  gold.  The  customs  houses  at  Dalny,  Antung 
and  Tatungkow  were  opened,  however,  for  only  a por- 
tion of  the  year,  and,  taking  this  into  consideration,  and 
including  a rough  estimate  of  the  very  extensive  native 
overland  traffic  between  the  “ Three  Eastern  Provinces  ” 
and  China  proper  and  Mongolia,  and  the  important, 


THE  SITUATION  IN  MANCHURIA 


137 


though  by  no  means  negligible,  frontier  trade  with  the 
Russian  Far  East,  the  figure  would  probably  be  doubled. 

The  principal  exports  are  beans  and  bean  cake,  of 
which  15%  of  the  former  and  85%  of  the  latter  used  to 
go  to  Japan.  During  the  past  year,  however,  the  Mitsui 
Bussan  Kaisha,  a powerful  Japanese  concern,  has  created 
a considerable  European  trade  in  bean  products.  The 
heaviest  imports  are  American,  Japanese  and  English 
cotton  goods,  American  kerosene  and  flour,  British- 
American  cigarettes,  and  general  merchandise. 

Under  the  treaty  of  Aigun  of  1858  navigation  on  the 
Sungari,  the  Amur  and  the  Ussuri  Rivers  is  reserved  to 
Russia  and  China.  The  Chinese  up  to  the  present  time 
own  nothing  but  a few  junks  on  these  streams.  Russian 
companies,  however,  have  a fleet  of  over  two  hundred 
steamers  and  four  hundred  barges,  drawing  from  two  to 
five  feet,  which  ply  between  Harbin,  Habarovsk  and 
Blagovestchensk.  Smaller  steamers  are  operated  on  the 
Sungari  between  Harbin,  Petuna  and  Kirin,  and  on  the 
upper  Amur  and  Shilka  to  Stretensk,  and  on  the  Argun. 

On  the  Sungari  are  the  cities  of  Kirin,  Petuna,  Har- 
bin and  Sansing,  and  the  prosperous  towns  of  Peituan 
lintzu  and  Heilampo. 

The  Liao  River,  which  debouches  into  the  Gulf  of 
Pechili  at  Newchwang,  is  navigable  for  vessels  drawing 
up  to  two  feet  for  about  150  miles  from  its  mouth,  and 
fleets  of  junks  annually  carry  a large  portion  of  the  bean 
crop  to  the  coast.  The  river  passes  not  far  from  Faku- 
men  and  Hsinmintun,  while  Tungchiangtzu  and  Tiehling 
are  located  on  its  banks. 

Smaller  streams  belonging  to  these  three  great  river 
systems  are  navigable  at  certain  seasons  of  the  year  for 
light  draft  vessels. 

Before  the  railways  came  Manchuria  depended  prin- 
cipally, however,  upon  her  roads  for  the  transport  of 


138  CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 

produce  to  the  coasts  and  of  imports  into  the  interior. 
The  winters  are  cold,  but  there  is  comparatively  little 
snow.  From  November  until  March  therefore  the  high- 
ways are  beaten  hard  by  the  wheels  of  countless  vehicles 
which,  dragged  by  from  two  to  six  or  seven  animals,  ply 
between  the  main  trade  marts.  Perils  of  the  road  there 
are,  but  with  the  presence  of  well-disciplined  troops  and 
the  perfection  of  rural  police  organization  the  “ hung- 
hutse,”  or  bandits,  have  gradually  disappeared  and 
ceased  to  prey  upon  the  cart  trains  and  to  levy  black- 
mail on  the  merchants  as  of  yore. 

The  largest  cities  on  the  Russian  railway  system  in 
Manchuria  are  Kuangchengtzu,  Harbin,  Ninguta  and 
Tsitsihar,  the  first  being  commercially  the  most  impor- 
tant. 

At  Kuangchengtzu  the  Japanese  railway  system  meets 
the  Russian  line  and  will  eventually  connect  with  the 
proposed  Chino-Japanese  railway  from  Kirin  to  this 
point.  The  South  Manchurian  railway  runs  south  from 
Kuangchengtzu  to  the  ice-free  port  of  Dalny,  with  con- 
nection to  Newchwang  and  Port  Arthur  and  a narrow 
gauge,  commercially  useless,  branch  line  from  Mukden 
to  Antung,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Yalu.  The  principal 
cities  touched  in  addition  to  those  mentioned  are  Kai- 
yuan,  Changtu,  Tiehling  and  Liao-yang. 

The  earnings  for  the  year  ending  March  31,  1908, 
during  which  period  the  road  was  gauged  at  three  feet 
six  inches  and  the  rolling  stock  was  insufficient,  amounted 
to  $4,740,387.96  gold. 

The  Chinese  Imperial  railways  of  North  China  join 
the  Japanese  system  at  Mukden,  running  from  that  city 
through  Hsinmintun  to  Kaopantzu,  whence  a branch 
line  runs  to  Newchwang,  and  thence  to  Tientsin  and 
Peking.  The  line  touches  the  important  city  of  Chen- 
chow. 


THE  SITUATION  IN  MANCHURIA 


139 


The  earnings  for  the  Manchurian,  i.  c.,  the  Shanhai- 
kuan,  Hsinmintun  and  Newchwang  section,  amounted  in 
1906  to  $6,095,544.40,  and,  in  1907,  when  the  Hsinmin- 
tun-Mukden  section  was  taken  over,  to  a considerably 
larger  figure.  The  exact  amount  is  not  obtainable. 

The  people  of  Manchuria  have  largely  emigrated  from 
the  two  northern  Chinese  provinces  of  Chihli  and  Shan- 
tung. Pioneers  themselves,  they  are  sober,  industrious, 
well-to-do,  and  comparatively  intelligent.  They  are  fond 
of  travel,  and,  like  their  fellow-provincials  in  the  south, 
would  readily  avail  themselves  of  improved  transporta- 
tion to  develop  the  hitherto  uncultivated  areas  in  Kirin 
and  Heilungchiang,  while  the  merchants  are  anxious  to 
make  connections  with  reputable  foreign  firms  and  stim- 
ulate the  import  trade. 

The  present  Manchurian  administration  was  inaug- 
urated in  June,  1907.  For  the  first  time  in  the  history  of 
the  “ Three  Eastern  Provinces  ” there  is  a single  Viceroy 
with  authority  over  the  three  Governors,  chiefs  of  the 
provincial  organizations.  An  effort  has  been  made  with 
satisfactory  results  to  remodel  the  old  administrative  ma- 
chinery. The  first  Viceroy  and  the  Governor  of  Feng- 
tien  province,  who  were  responsible  for  this  endeavor, 
were,  however,  greatly  hampered  by  the  lack  of  well- 
trained  and  progressive  men.  There  was,  undoubtedly, 
peculation  and  waste,  even  under  their  administration, 
and  a close  investigation  would  probably  reveal  numer- 
ous instances  of  corruption  and  incompetence.  An  hon- 
est and  sincere  effort,  however,  is  now  being  made  to 
overcome  these  defects  and  it  is  safe  to  say  that  Man- 
churia to-day  is  more  efficiently  governed  than  any  other 
portion  of  the  Chinese  Empire. 

The  last  Tartar  General  of  Fengtien,  predecessor  at 
Mukden  of  the  first  Viceroy,  gave  his  Province  probably 
the  first  two  years  of  fairly  honest  government  in  the 


140 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


history  of  Manchuria.  His  Treasurer  admitted  the  col- 
lection of  over  3,000,000  taels,  or  about  $2,000,000,  for 
the  year  from  August,  1906,  to  August,  1907, — probably 
about  one-half  the  sum  paid  in  by  the  people  to  the  local 
officials.  This  fact  that  such  a sum  could  be  raised  in 
one  province  immediately  after  the  war  and  during  a 
military  occupation  proves  the  potential  wealth  and  pos- 
sibilities of  the  country,  which,  it  is  estimated  by  compe- 
tent authorities,  should  yield  about  $7,500,000  per  annum, 
if  the  revenues  were  properly  administered. 

Aside  from  the  customs  duties  levied  at  the  open  ports 
and  the  “ native  customs  ” returns  at  Newchwang,  which 
go  to  the  central  government,  the  Manchurian  admin- 
istration collects  for  its  own  use  two  taxes,  “ consump- 
tion,” practically  an  import,  and  “ production,”  an  ex- 
port tax,  on  all  native  trade  and  on  foreign  trade  at  un- 
opened cities,  together  with  a tobacco  tax,  wine  tax,  cart 
tax,  live  stock  tax,  and  certain  other  imposts. 

These  revenues  have  scarcely  sufficed  to  meet  the 
heavy  demands  for  construction  of  Government  build- 
ings and  other  public  works,  the  general  opening  of 
schools  of  various  grades,  and  the  equipment  of  military 
forces. 

The  financial  situation  in  Manchuria  is  unsatisfactory, 
owing  to  the  numbers  of  circulating  media  in  use  and  to 
the  elaborate  exchange  and  credit  systems  which  have 
prevailed  in  but  are  now  disappearing  from  the  principal 
trade  centers.  The  provincial  authorities  of  Kirin  and 
Heilungchiang,  moreover,  have  issued  large  quantities  of 
notes,  against  which  they  had  no  adequate  reserves,  with 
the  result  that  government  paper  in  these  two  provinces 
is  now  at  a heavy  discount.  A similar  condition  which 
existed  a year  ago  in  Fengtien  has  been  relieved  by  care- 
ful administrative  measures. 

The  Russo-Chinese  and  Yokohama  Specie  Banks  are 


THE  SITUATION  IN  MANCHURIA  141 


the  only  foreign  institutions  generally  operating  in  Man- 
churia. The  former  has  recently  closed  its  branches  at 
Mukden,  Kirin,  and  Hailar,  and,  according  to  late  in- 
formation, intends  doing  likewise  with  the  Kuangcheng- 
tzu  and  Tsitsihar  offices. 

In  marked  contrast  to  Russian  retrenchment  has  been 
Japanese  extension  throughout  southern  Manchuria.  The 
Yokohama  Specie  Bank  has  opened  offices  at  New- 
chwang,  Dalny,  Port  Arthur,  Liaoyang,  Mukden,  Tieh- 
ling  and  Kuangchengtzu  and  contemplates  an  installation 
at  Kirin  and  Harbin.  It  is  difficult,  however,  to  ascertain 
whether  this  rapid  expansion  has  been  justified  by  actual 
profits  or  been  the  result  of  deliberate  government  policy. 

There  are  provincial  banks  at  the  three  Manchurian 
capitals.  At  Kirin  and  Tstisihar,  and,  to  a certain  ex- 
tent, at  Mukden,  they  have  been  highly  profitable  to  the 
officials  interested  therein,  but  at  the  two  former  places 
they  have  complicated  rather  than  relieved  the  financial 
situation. 

The  Chinese  Imperial  Government,  or  Hu  Pu,  Bank 
has  branches  at  Newchwang,  Mukden,  Tsitsihar,  An- 
tung  and  Kirin,  but  has  confined  its  activities  thus  far 
chiefly  to  operations  in  exchange. 

The  activities  of  Japanese  and  of  British  and  Ameri- 
can firms  in  Manchuria  have  proven  that  the  present 
trade  of  the  country  is  but  the  beginning  of  what  may 
be  expected  if  transportation  facilities  are  extended, 
fresh  immigrants  brought  in  to  people  the  fertile  but  now 
uninhabited  tracts  to  the  north,  and  intelligent  selling 
methods  adopted.  For  American  interests,  the  Standard 
Oil  Company  has  now  branches  in  charge  of  native 
agents  in  practically  all  the  principal  Manchurian  cities. 
The  British  American  Tobacco  Company,  with  a factory 
at  Mukden,  has  Europeans  or  Americans  at  the  main 
trade  centers,  and  both  these  concerns  have  inspectors 


142 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


who  regularly  visit  the  various  branches  to  study  the  de- 
mands of  their  business.  At  the  agricultural  experi- 
ment stations  maintained  by  the  Government,  American 
farming  methods  are  being  practically  demonstrated 
with  American  machines  for  the  benefit  of  special  stu- 
dents and  for  such  farmers  as  may  care  to  take  advantage 
of  the  opportunities  thus  afforded  them. 

It  is  because  Manchuria’s  trade  is  still  but  a fraction 
of  what  it  may  become  and  because  its  growth  must  de- 
pend upon  the  manner  in  which,  and  under  whose  au- 
spices the  country  is  developed,  that  the  immediate  prob- 
lem is  political  rather  than  commercial  in  character. 

There  are  four  chief  factors  in  the  situation,  some- 
times with  similar,  sometimes  with  conflicting  interests. 
They  are : 

(i.)  Russia,  who  desires  to  preserve  the  influence  that 
has  survived  the  war ; 

(2.)  Japan,  who  has  already  profited  largely  but  who 
desires  to  obtain  a permanent  and  increasing  influence ; 

(3.)  China,  who  wishes  herself  to  administer  the  ter- 
ritory recovered  for  her  from  Russia  by  Japan,  without 
commitment  to  either,  and 

(4.)  The  other  trading  powers  who  desire  equal  com- 
mercial opportunity  and  to  whose  interest  therefore  it  is 
to  preserve  the  “ open  door  ” and  a fair  field  for  their 
merchants. 

Russian  interests  are  now  practically  confined  to  the 
so-called  “ Railway  Settlements  ” on  the  Chinese  Eastern 
Railway,  and  to  her  steamship  lines  on  the  Sungari,  Us- 
suri, and  Amur.  The  merchants  established  at  Harbin, 
Hailar,  Tsitsihar  and  elsewhere  depend  for  their  living 
largely  on  the  railroad,  its  traffic  and  the  thousands  of 
employees  it  has  brought  to  Manchuria.  From  Hailar 
there  is  a considerable  trade-in  Mongolian  wool  and  in 
fur.  Harbin  is  the  purchasing  center  for  Chinese  wheat, 


THE  SITUATION  IN  MANCHURIA  143 


which  is  ground  into  flour  either  there  or  at  Blagovest- 
chensk  or  Habarovsk  on  the  Amur.  The  beef  supply 
for  the  railway  towns  and  for  the  Russian  cities  on  the 
Amur  is  also  largely  secured  from  Mongolia  and  during 
the  summer  months  large  herds  of  cattle  are  driven 
north  over  the  highway  from  Tsitsihar  to  Aigun.  Bar- 
ring cigarettes,  cheap  spirits  and  a certain  amount  of 
cotton  prints,  locally  made  flour,  and  some  hardware, 
however,  the  Chinese  buy  little  from  the  Russians,  re- 
ceiving cash  rather  than  exchanged  products  for  their 
wares. 

Since  the  war  Russia  has  transferred  to  China  the  tele- 
graph lines  which  she  formerly  operated  in  northern 
Manchuria,  made  an  equitable  arrangement  regarding 
the  transmission  of  messages  over  the  Chinese  Eastern 
Railway  Company’s  wires,  and  reached  an  equally  satis- 
factory understanding  concerning  the  handling  of  Chi- 
nese Imperial  mails.  The  only  important  point  of  dif- 
ference with  China  at  present  is  that  dealing  with  the  ad- 
ministration of  the  “ railway  settlements.”  The  question 
is  most  acute  at  the  largest  of  these,  Harbin,  but  after 
two  years  of  negotiation  it  seems  likely  that  the  Railway 
Administration,  which  has  heretofore  insisted  on  retain- 
ing control  of  the  city,  will  consent  to  the  establishment 
of  an  international  settlement  modeled  on  that  of  Shang- 
hai. 

Japan,  on  the  other  hand,  has  shown  little  inclination 
to  meet  China’s  wishes  in  her  Manchurian  negotiations. 
Where  Russia  has  not  unnaturally  been  reluctant  to  re- 
cede from,  Japan  has  constantly  endeavored  to  better, 
the  position  in  which  she  found  herself  at  the  close  of 
the  war.  She  has  seized  large  tracts  of  land  at  Antung 
and  Kuangchengtzu  and  other  cities  along  the  South 
Manchurian  Railway,  paying  the  owners  thereof  at  a 
rate  below  the  market  price  if  at  all.  With  a questionable 


144 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


title  she  continues  to  work  the  Fushun  coal  mines.  The 
operation  of  the  collieries  at  Penhsihu,  near  Mukden, 
has  been  carried  on  despite  the  Chinese  protest,  and  the 
methods  employed  by  Japanese  officials  in  charge  of  the 
Yalu  Timber  Bureau  would  long  ago  have  caused  seri- 
ous friction  had  China  been  in  a position  to  resist.  The 
occupation  of  Chientao,  a region  in  southeastern  Man- 
churia, and  the  actions  of  the  Japanese  gendarmeries  in 
that  district,  the  recently  terminated  competition  of  Japa- 
nese, with  the  Imperial  Chinese  Telegraphs,  the  disre- 
gard of  China’s  postal  rights,  and  the  present  determi- 
nation of  Japan,  without  China’s  consent,  to  commence 
the  construction  of  a broad-gauge  road  between  Muk- 
den and  Antung  where  her  treaty  provisions  only  en- 
titled her  within  a period  which  terminated  April  15, 
1909,  to  improve  a “ military  railway  ” built  during  the 
war,  are  the  more  important  of  the  many  incidents  which 
taken  as  a whole,  and  without  sufficient  evidence  to  the 
contrary,  must  be  regarded  as  giving  the  keynote  of 
Japan’s  Manchurian  policy. 

These  occurrences,  it  is  true,  are  perhaps  of  direct  con- 
cern only  to  China  and  Japan.  That  Japanese  action, 
however,  is  not  wholly  consistent  with  the  spirit  cer- 
tainly of  her  “ open  door  ” declarations  may  be  seen 
from  her  prohibition  of  the  Hsinmintun-Fakumen  Rail- 
way, a road  which  China  desired  to  build  with  British 
capital,  and  which  would  have  opened  a country  now 
only  served  by  cart  roads  and  the  river  Liao.  Mr.  Asa- 
kawa  in  his  able  discussion  of  Japan’s  position  in  Man- 
churia has  failed  to  touch  upon  some  of  the  really  vital 
points  at  issue.  Mr.  Adachi  Kinnosuke  in  the  “ World’s 
Work,”  however,  has  frankly  virtually  stated  that  Japan 
would  dominate  Manchuria  by  right  of  conquest  and  has 
then  endeavored  to  prove  that  such  domination  would 
be  beneficial  to  American  and  general  trade. 


THE  SITUATION  IN  MANCHURIA  145 


This  may  or  may  not  be  true.  The  fact  remains  that 
while  Japan  drove  Russia  from  Manchuria  for  the 
avowed  purpose  of  restoring  the  Three  Provinces  to 
China  and  in  order  to  preserve  the  “ open  door,”  she 
now  holds  to  all  intents  and  purposes  the  same  influence 
and  position  which  in  Russia’s  possession  she  found  so 
irreconcilable  with  her  ideas  of  international  equity.  So 
much  for  the  theory.  Practically  Manchuria  to-day  af- 
fords a better  market  than  ever  for  foreign  goods.  The 
communications  are  better.  The  people  are  awake,  and 
the  officials  stimulated  by  the  danger  of  foreign  en- 
croachment are  progressive  and  intelligently  striving  to 
improve  and  develop  the  country. 

It  has  been  to  Japan’s  interest  to  bolster  the  Russian 
position  in  the  north,  for  by  so  doing  she  preserves  prece- 
dents which  she  may  turn  to  her  own  advantage.  Rus- 
sia has  to  choose  between  one  of  two  courses ; either  she 
must  stand  firm  and  thus  add  to  the  strength  of  her  pos- 
sible future  enemy  in  the  south  or,  as  she  has  seemed 
not  disinclined  to  do,  unite  with  China  to  check  the  grow- 
ing power  of  Japan.  China  must  if  possible  secure  Rus- 
sian support  and  endeavor  also,  while  strengthening  her 
own  administration,  to  encourage  general  foreign  trade. 

To  a certain  extent  this  is  now  being  done.  The  situ- 
ation in  Manchuria,  however,  is  peculiar.  In  other  parts 
of  China,  the  “ treaty  ports,”  cities  where  foreigners 
may  reside  and  establish  their  commercial  bases,  are 
located  either  on  the  sea  coast  or  on  the  banks  of  the 
great  navigable  rivers.  But  few  interior  cities  have  been 
“ opened  to  trade.”  In  Manchuria  there  are  eighteen 
open  cities,  of  which  but  two,  Newchw'ang  and  Antung, 
are  accessible  from  the  sea.  All  the  principal  trade 
marts  have  been  put  on  the  same  footing  with  the  ports 
of  entry  throughout  the  Empire.  Imports  from  abroad 
having  paid  the  regular  customs  dues  are  under  the 


146 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


treaties  entitled  to  exemption  from  local  taxation  at 
treaty  ports.  An  attempt  was  made  by  the  Manchurian 
authorities  to  set  aside  certain  limited  areas  outside  these 
open  cities  as  “ foreign  settlements  ” within  which  for- 
eign goods  were  to  be  permitted  to  enter  free  from  all 
save  the  generally  uniform  five  per  cent,  import  duty. 
Once  the  goods  should  leave  the  settlements,  however, 
the  officials  were  to  hold  them  liable  to  the  “ consump- 
tion tax,”  virtually  a likin  levy.  This  point  was  long 
contested  by  the  consular  body  at  Mukden,  which  finally 
in  theory  won  its  case.  Foreign  goods  in  foreign  hands 
are  no  longer  subjected  to  the  “ inland  ” imposts.  Once 
they  enter  the  charge  of  the  native  agents  maintained 
by  the  foreign  firms  at  the  smaller  treaty  ports,  however, 
these  levies  are  often  made.  Complaint  at  the  Yamens 
is  generally  of  little  avail,  for  the  Government  is  not  yet 
strong  enough  to  substitute  direct  for  indirect  taxation, 
and  without  the  revenue  derived  from  the  “ consumption 
tax  ” at  these  cities,  it  would  be  unable  to  meet  running 
expenses. 

It  is  particularly  in  regard  to  these  imposts  that 
foreign  trade  generally  is  obliged  to  meet  unfair  Japanese 
competition.  Japanese  merchants,  it  is  true,  and  partic- 
ularly the  Cotton  Exporters  Association,  which  is  the 
most  formidable  rival  of  the  American  mills,  receive 
special  consideration  from  the  Government.  Their 
goods  are  borne  to  Dalny  on  subsidized  steamships,  are 
carried  into  the  interior  on  the  South  Manchurian  Rail- 
way, which  gives  rebates  in  a manner  which  has  hitherto 
proved  of  little  benefit  to  foreign  shippers , and  are 
handled  on  long  credits  and  small  interest  through  the 
assistance  of  the  Yokohama  Specie  Bank.  This  Gov- 
ernment policy  has  greatly  assisted  Japanese  trade,  but 
as  Mr.  Millard,  who  analyzes  Manchurian  conditions 
with  great  skill  in  his  “ America  and  the  Far  Eastern 


THE  SITUATION  IN  MANCHURIA  147 


Question,”  has  pointed  out,  the  benefactions  of  a paternal 
government  can  scarcely  be  considered  just  grounds  for 
complaint  by  those  competitors  whom  they  place  at  a 
commercial  disadvantage.  Real  cause  for  protest,  both 
to  China  and  Japan,  however,  as  mentioned  above,  is  to 
be  found  in  the  fact  that  many  Japanese  merchants,  and 
the  same  condition  would  probably  be  found  in  the  north 
among  the  few  Russians  there  doing  business,  rightfully 
in  the  treaty  ports,  but  w’rongfully  in  the  interior,  refuse 
to  pay  the  “ consumption  ” or  production  ” taxes. 
These  traders  are  settled  in  towns  unopened  to  trade 
along  the  line  of  the  Japanese  railway,  and  have  fre- 
quently established  themselves  in  other  non-treaty  ports 
as  well.  Chinese  protests  against  their  presence  have 
been  of  no  avail,  and  attempts  to  dislodge  them  have  been 
followed  by  demands  for  indemnification  from  Japanese 
consular  authorities.  Such  merchants  compete  directly 
with  Chinese  dealers  who  handle  non-Japanese  foreign 
goods,  and  in  one  case  even  offer  to  carry  the  agency  for 
a foreign  firm,  claiming  as  a special  advantage  to  be 
gained,  should  the  connection  be  made,  that  there  would 
be  no  “ consumption  tax  ” to  pay. 

Popular  resentment  against  Japanese  actions  and  lack 
of  confidence  in  the  quality  of  Japanese  goods  are 
steadily  increasing,  however,  and  these  facts  as  well  as 
the  Japanese  lack  of  capital,  even  in  the  face  of  govern- 
ment subvention,  will  in  the  long  run  tend  to  lessen  the 
menace  of  Japanese  competition  to  general  foreign  trade. 
From  Russia  there  is  little  to  fear. 

Manchurian  trade  development  to  be  rapid,  and  profit- 
able to  those  concerned,  however,  must  remain  un- 
hampered by  interference  from  abroad.  China’s  sover- 
eignty must  be  conserved  and  her  power  strengthened, 
for  an  alien  domination  of  Manchuria  w'ould  but  pre- 
cede the  extension  of  the  same  influence  throughout  the 


148 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


Empire.  To  create  a substantial  foreign  commercial  in- 
terest, and  by  so  doing  secure  a political  safeguard  for 
the  “ Three  Eastern  Provinces,”  is  as  necessary  to 
China’s  welfare,  as  the  maintenance  of  her  integrity  and 
the  preservation  of  the  “ open  door  ” are  essential  to  the 
full  realization  of  the  well-warranted  hopes  for  the 
future  of  our  Eastern  markets. 


IX 


THE  OPIUM  PROBLEM— ITS  HISTORY  AND 
PRESENT  CONDITION 

It  is  as  difficult  to  date  exactly  the  beginning  of  the 
rise  of  the  opium  problem,  as  we  understand  it  to-day, 
as  it  is  to  date  exactly  the  discovery  of  the  narcotic 
properties  of  the  poppy.  It  may  be  inferred,  however, 
from  references  made  to  the  poppy  in  classic  literature, 
that,  coincident  wdth  the  first  uses  of  the  poppy  in  medi- 
cine, an  abuse  of  it  began.  Its  lethean  qualities  were 
sung  by  the  early  Greek  and  Latin  poets. 

It  is  in  the  more  recent  times  that  opium,  or  the  ex- 
tract of  the  poppy  capsule,  came  to  be  widely  used  as  a 
stimulant  or  euphoric,  and  the  poppy  deliberately  culti- 
vated on  a large  commercial  scale  for  such  purposes. 

Such  a use  of  opium  seems  to  have  coincided  with 
the  rise  of  Islamism.  For  as  Mohammedanism  spread 
over  the  Near  and  Far  East,  the  opium  problem  took 
shape  and  fastened  itself  not  only  on  strictly  Islamic  com- 
munities, but  on  their  neighbors  of  other  faiths.  While 
it  was  inchoate,  both  in  production  and  traffic,  a great 
trading  company  (the  East  India  Company)  appeared 
in  the  field,  and  for  revenue  purposes  shaped  the  pro- 
duction into  a firm  monopoly,  and  mortised  and  tenoned 
it  into  the  trade,  commerce  and  politics  of  the  Far  East. 
On  so  firm  a rock  was  that  monopoly  founded,  that  it 
has  lasted  to  this  day,  and  its  control  of  the  production 
and  traffic  in  opium  has  become  so  intermixed  with  the 


149 


ISO  CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 

morals,  economics  and  politics  of  the  Far  East  that 
nothing  short  of  the  conjoint  action  of  the  countries  con- 
cerned, would  seem  to  be  able  to  blast  it. 

Within  the  past  few  years  a determined,  international 
effort  has  been  made  to  shake  the  foundations  of  the 
opium  vice.  It  will  be  the  purpose  of  this  paper  to  trace, 
briefly,  the  birth  and  growth  of  the  problem,  and  the 
measures  now  contemplated  for  its  dissolution. 

To  the  Greeks  we  undoubtedly  owe  the  discovery  of 
opium.  They  long  had  a knowledge  of  the  medicinal 
value  of  the  poppy  plant  itself,  and  on  the  discovery  of 
opium  they  soon  learned  of  the  narcotic  properties  of 
the  drug.  Hippocrates,  in  the  fifth  century,  B.c.,  first 
mentions  the  juice  of  poppy  capsules,  and  informs 
us  of  its  properties  and  uses.  By  the  first  Christian  cen- 
tury, the  drug  had  been  generally  introduced  to  the  Near 
East,  and  its  qualities  made  known.  The  only  opium 
known  to  commerce  at  this  time  was  produced  in  Asia 
Minor,  and  the  distributers  of  it  to  Persia,  India,  the 
East  Indian  Islands  and  even  China,  were  the  Arabs. 

On  the  founding  of  Islamism,  and  especially  after  the 
founding  of  the  Caliphate  and  Bagdad,  about  763,  a.d., 
we  begin  to  learn  of  commercial  transactions  in  opium, 
this  traffic  being  between  Arab  merchant  adventurers 
and  peoples  farther  east.  The  traffic  extended  as  far 
as  China. 

In  the  course  of  trade  to  China  the  Islamic  traders 
touched  at  the  Malay  Peninsula  and  East  Indian  Islands, 
and  no  doubt  acquainted  their  peoples  with  a knowledge 
of  the  poppy  and  opium. 

By  war  as  well  as  by  trade  the  Arabs  spread  the  poppy 
and  opium  over  the  Far  East.  It  is  a matter  of  common 
knowledge,  the  rapidity  of  the  spread  of  Mohammedan 
power  and  influence  over  the  Near  and  Far  East  after 
its  first  establishment  in  Arabia,  early  in  the  seventh 


THE  OPIUM  PROBLEM 


151 

century.  That  the  use  of  opium  as  a stimulant  or 
euphoric  should  have  spread  with  it,  appears  to  be  due 
to  the  fact  that  alcohol  was  strictly  forbidden  to  the  ad- 
herents of  the  new  religion.  The  great  majority  of  the 
followers  of  the  Prophet  have  fallen  into  the  use,  or 
countenance  the  use  of  opium,  and  even  the  hemp  drugs. 

With  the  cry,  “ There  is  no  God  but  God,  and 
Mohammed  is  his  Prophet,”  and  we  may  add,  “ If  you  do 
not  accept  this  dogma,  a little  opium  will  improve  it,”  the 
Mohammedan  Arabs,  Persians,  and  Turks  overran  India. 
By  the  eleventh  century  they  had  the  larger  part  of  that 
continent  under  Islamic  rule  or  influence.  Under  this 
rule  the  growth  of  the  poppy  and  the  manufacture  of 
opium  became  widespread. 

But  until  Europeans  began  to  flock  to  the  Indian 
Ocean,  we  have  little  authentic  information  as  to  the 
exact  extent  of  the  production  and  trade  in  Indian  opium. 
When  we  get  to  the  end  of  the  fifteenth  and  beginning  of 
the  sixteenth  centuries,  we  are  on  more  solid  historic 
ground.  From  Portuguese  writers  and  adventurers  of 
those  times,  we  learn  that  the  use  of  opium  as  a stimulant 
had  become  an  inveterate  habit  of  large  numbers  of 
Persians  and  Indians.  We  become  aware  also,  that  there 
was  a brisk  export  of  the  drug  from  India,  Persia  and 
even  Egypt,  the  producing  countries,  to  peoples  farther 
east. 

After  Vasco  de  Gama  rounded  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope 
in  1497,  Europeans  sprang  with  avidity  into  the  opium 
traffic  which  they  found  firmly  established  in  the  hands 
of  Arabs,  Turks,  Persians  and  even  Chinese. 

It  is  reported  by  Vespucchi  that  opium  and  many 
other  drugs  too  numerous  to  detail  were  sent  from  India 
to  Lisbon  in  Cabral’s  fleet.  That  was  in  1501.  “ Arfium, 

for  so  they  call  opio  thebaico,”  was  taken  in  the  capture 
of,  “ eight  Guzzurate  ships.”  So  we  are  informed  by 


152 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


Giovanni  da  Empoli  in  a letter  of  the  year  1511.  Then 
we  have  the  great  Don  Alfonso  de  Albuquerque  writing 
the  following  remarkable  passage  to  his  King  in  a letter 
from  Cananor.  On  December  i,  1513,  he  says: 

“ I also  send  you  a man  of  Aden,  who  knows  how  to 
work  afyam  (opium),  and  the  manner  of  collecting  it. 
If  Your  Highness  would  believe  me,  I would  order 
poppies  of  the  Agores  to  be  sown  in  all  the  fields  of 
Portugal  and  command  afyam  to  be  made,  which  is 
the  best  merchandise  that  obtains  in  these  places,  and 
by  which  much  money  is  made;  owing  to  the  thrashing 
which  we  gave  Aden,  no  Afyam  has  come  to  India,  and 
where  it  once  was  worth  12  pardoes  a faracolla,  there  is 
none  to  be  had  at  80.  Afyam  is  nothing  else,  Senhor, 
but  the  milk  of  the  poppy;  from  Cayro  (sic),  whence  it 
used  to  come,  none  comes  now  from  Aden ; therefore, 
Senhor,  I would  have  you  order  them  to  be  sown  and  cul- 
tivated, because  a shipload  would  be  used  yearly  in  India, 
and  the  laborers  would  gain  much  also,  and  the  people 
of  India  are  lost  without  it,  if  they  do  not  eat  it ; and  set 
this  fact  in  order,  for  I do  not  write  to  Your  Highness 
an  insignificant  thing.”  It  would  seem  that  “ Senhor  ” 
did  not  follow  this  advice.  For  the  poppy  has  not  been 
cultivated  in  Portugal  for  opium. 

A keen  observer  of  conditions  on  the  coasts  of  East 
Africa  and  Malabar  was  Duarte  Barbosa.  In  1516  he 
found  the  trade  established  at  Aden  and  on  the  Coro- 
mandel and  Malabar  coasts  of  the  Deccan.  Also  at  the 
port  of  Pegu  and  at  Ava  in  Burma.  At  Malacca  on 
the  Straits  of  that  name,  he  found  the  Chinese  busy  in 
the  traffic  between  Malacca  and  Canton. 

These  observers  found  that,  according  to  native 
sources  of  information,  the  cultivation  of  the  poppy  and 
the  manufacture  of  opium  had  been  of  many  years’  stand- 
ing in  India,  before  Vasco  dc  Gama  anchored  off  Cali- 


THE  OPIUM  PROBLEM 


153 


cut,  May  20,  1498.  That  is,  during  the  time  that  had 
elapsed  between  the  Mohammedan  conquest  of  India  and 
the  appearance  of  \'asco  de  Gama,  the  poppy  had  been 
firmly  planted  in  Indian  soil. 

When  the  East  India  Company’s  servants  began  to 
know  the  continent  of  India,  all  this  was  confirmed. 
William  Fitch,  a merchant  connected  with  the  Company, 
tells  us  that  in  the  Malwa  region  especially,  the  opium 
trade  was  an  established  one  long  before  Western  peoples 
found  their  way  for  trade  or  war  to  the  Indian  Ocean. 
Fitch,  who  landed  at  Surat,  August  28,  1608,  and  crossed 
India  to  Agra,  furnishes  a good  description  of  the 
Indian  method  of  producing  opium  from  the  poppy 
head. 

The  London  East  India  Company  was  incorporated  in 
1698,  and  immediately  began  to  trade  to  all  points  be- 
tween the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  and  the  Straits  of  Magel- 
lan. From  the  records  of  that  Company,  which  later 
did  so  much  to  develop  the  opium  trade,  we  learn  much 
on  the  subject.  In  a list  prepared  by  one,  John  Cham- 
berlain, for  the  Company  in  1699,  opium  is  mentioned  as 
one  of  the  commodities  of  the  East  Indies  imported  by 
Holland  and  Portugal. 

From  the  first  letter  book  of  the  Company,  we  find 
that  the  General  Lieutenant  and  Captains  of  the  fourth 
voyage  (1606),  had  instruction  to  buy  the  best  quality 
of  opium.  Such  opium,  however,  was  not  considerable. 
It  was  for  use  in  England,  and  not  for  exchange  in  coun- 
tries farther  east  than  India.  The  Indo-Chinese  opium 
trade  of  the  Company,  which  grew  to  be  the  largest 
single  factor  in  the  opium  problem,  was  of  a later  day, 
and  will  be  referred  to  directly. 

It  is  clear  from  these  records  that  there  was  a brisk 
commerce  in  opium  between  India,  the  chief  source  of 
supply,  and  Europe,  the  East  Indian  Islands  and  China. 


154 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


Further  that  it  was  carried  on  by  Arabs  at  first,  but 
later  by  Portuguese,  Dutch,  French  and  even  Danish 
traders.  Later,  when  the  Company  entered  into  the 
traffic,  it  soon  became  a monopoly. 

But  here  we  must  retrace  our  steps  for  a moment. 
When  India  opened  out  to  European  travelers,  merchant 
adventurers  and  the  agents  of  the  large  European  trad- 
ing companies,  it  was  found  that  the  Mogul  Government 
had  established  a loose  monopoly  of  the  production  and 
sale  of  opium  wherever  its  authority  ran  in  India.  The 
exact  period  when  this  monopoly  was  founded  is  in 
doubt;  but  it  seems  to  have  been  in  Akbar’s  time  (1556- 
1605).  It  is  clear  from  the  remarks  of  a certain  Cap- 
tain Hamilton,  that  there  was  an  opium  emporium  at 
Patna  early  in  the  eighteenth  century.  In  a published 
account  of  some  thirty  years’  travel  and  traffic  in  India, 
Hamilton  observes,  “ Patana  (Patna),  is  the  next  town 
frequented  by  Europeans,  where  the  English  and  Dutch 
have  factories  for  saltpetre  and  raw  silk.  It  produces  also 
so  much  opium  that  it  serves  all  the  countries  in  India 
with  that  commodity.”  Patna  was  one  of  the  chief 
opium  manufacturing  centers  of  the  Mogul  opium 
monopoly.  To-day,  as  under  the  Moguls,  Patna,  along 
with  Benares,  is  the  chief  agency  of  the  British  Indian 
opium  monopoly. 

Just  what  the  early  relations  were  between  the  East 
India  Company  and  the  Mogul  monopoly  which  it  found 
established  in  Bengal,  it  is  difficult  to  state.  But  it  was 
inevitable  that  the  Company,  with  its  vast  commercial 
and  political  power,  should  have  to  decide  either  to  con- 
tinue the  monopoly  as  it  was  found  in  India,  or  to  dis- 
countenance it.  The  Company’s  opportunity  came  when 
Clive  won  Plassey  in  1757.  For  its  success  in  that  affair 
gave  it  control  of  Bengal  and  of  the  Mogul  opium 
monopoly,  centered  at  Patna. 


THE  OPIUM  PROBLEM 


1 55 

It  will  be  seen  that  we  are  approaching  critical  ground, 
that  we  should  see  the  fall,  but  are  about  to  see  the  rise 
and  establishment  of  the  opium  problem  as  it  confronts 
us  in  the  Far  East  even  to  this  day.  For  we  are  now 
face  to  face  with  the  path  taken  by  an  organized  trading 
machine,  somewhat  conscienceless,  where  returns  counted, 
and  with  the  armed  forces  of  England  behind  its  com- 
mercial schemes. 

Before  following  this  new  turn  in  the  rise  of  the 
opium  problem,  it  will  be  well  to  look  from  the  East 
India  Company  and  India  of  1757,  and  see  what  has  hap- 
pened in  China  since  its  contact  with  Arabs  and  those 
European  traders  who  leaped  into  the  Indian  Ocean  on 
the  heels  of  Vasco  de  Gama’s  voyage. 

It  has  been  mentioned  that  we  have  clear  evidence  that 
the  Arabs  visited  China  during  the  Caliphat,  but  there 
is  some  evidence  that  they  had  traded  at  Canton  a hun- 
dred years  at  least  before  Mohammed’s  mother’s  brother 
built  himself  a tomb  in  that  city,  and  was  buried  there. 
The  Chinese  seem  to  have  known  the  poppy  and  the 
medicinal  value  of  its  capsules  from  early  times,  but 
there  is  unquestionable  evidence  that  their  acquaintance 
with  opium,  or  the  extract  of  the  capsule,  was  made 
known  to  them  by  their  Arab  visitors. 

What  we  certainly  know  of  the  poppy  in  China  is 
contained  in  the  “ Article  on  the  Poppy,”  contained  in  the 
I22d  book  of  the  “ Lexicon  of  the  Vegetable  Kingdom,” 
which  again  is  the  fourth  division  of  the  “ Category  of 
Science  and  Inanimate  Nature,”  the  whole  being  the 
fourth  category  in  the  “ Compendium  of  Literature  and 
Illustrations,  Ancient  and  Modern,”  drawn  up  by  Im- 
perial Chinese  authority,  and  published  October  23, 
1726. 

In  this  “ Article  on  the  Poppy,”  we  find  that  the  plant 
was  first  mentioned  under  the  name,  ying-su,  by  those 


156  CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


who  wrote  prior  to  819  a.d.,  that  is,  during  the  T’ang 
dynasty  (618-905  a.d.). 

From  the  T’ang  dynasty  onwards,  there  are  many 
poetic  and  other  references  to  the  poppy  plant,  and  of 
its  value  in  medicine.  About  the  year  983  a.d.,  it  entered 
the  Chinese  Pharmacopoeia,  and  in  the  Materia  Medica 
of  the  eleventh  century,  compiled  by  Su-sung  and  others, 
on  the  order  of  the  Emperor  Jen  T’sung,  it  is  stated; 
“ The  poppy  is  found  everywhere.  Many  persons  culti- 
vate it  as  an  ornamental  flower.  . . . When  the 

capsules  have  become  dry  and  yellow,  they  may  be 
plucked.”  The  writer  goes  on  to  describe  the  uses  of 
the  capsules  in  medicine. 

The  first  mention  in  Chinese  literature  of  the  extract 
of  poppy  heads,  that  is,  opium,  is  in  the  fifteenth  century. 
A writer  of  the  Ming  dynasty  (1368-1644),  who  died 
sometime  in  the  year  1488,  says  that  opium  is  the  product 
of  the  ying-su  flower.  The  writer,  Wang  Hsi,  relates 
that  “ Opium  is  produced  in  Arabia  from  a poppy  with  a 
red  flower.  . . . The  capsule,  while  still  fresh,  is 

pricked  for  its  juice.”  It  will  be  observed  that  this 
author  died  ten  years  before  Vasco  de  Gama  rounded 
the  Cape  of  Good  Hope. 

During  the  first  half  of  the  Ming  dynasty  (1360- 
1644),  frequent  raids  were  made  by  the  Japanese  upon 
the  Chinese  coast.  This  led,  in  1523,  to  an  Edict  which 
closed  the  ports  of  China  to  all  foreigners.  It  has  been 
supposed  that  this  closure  made  opium  as  well  as  other 
foreign  drugs,  scarce  in  the  Empire.  As  a consequence, 
we  find  contemporary,  native  writers  giving  precise  di- 
rections for  the  manufacture  of  opium.  Another  con- 
sequence must  have  been  an  increased  sowing  of  the 
poppy  in  China  and  a wider  knowledge  of  the  plant  and 
its  properties  to  the  Chinese. 

Nevertheless,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  the  Chinese 


THE  OPIUM  PROBLEM 


157 


knowledge  of  the  poppy  had  grown  from  the  poppy 
plant  and  its  properties  to  opium,  there  is  nothing  in 
any  authentic  document  to  show  that  up  to  the  end  of 
the  Ming  dynasty,  they  regarded  either  the  plant  or 
opium  as  other  than  a medicine. 

When  we  get  to  the  end  of  the  Ming  dynasty,  a 
change  occurs  in  the  Chinese  method  and  object,  in  the 
use  of  opium.  We  stumble  rather  than  walk  on  the  rise 
of  the  opium-smoking  habit,  the  habit  that  is  China’s 
opium  problem  to-day. 

There  is  some  obscurity  in  the  history  of  the  rise  of 
this  habit.  Kaempfer,  the  Westphalian,  had  noted  as 
early  as  1639  that  the  Javanese  combined  opium  with 
tobacco  and  smoked  it.  The  rise  of  the  opium-smoking 
habit  in  China  seems  to  have  followed  the  introduction 
of  tobacco  smoking  to  that  Empire.  The  tobacco  plant 
had  been  transplanted  by  the  Spaniards  to  the  Philippine 
Islands.  From  here  it  appears  to  have  been  introduced 
by  way  of  Formosa  to  Amoy  and  its  neighborhood,  in 
the  Province  of  Fukien.  This  was  towards  the  end  of 
the  Ming  dynasty  (1620).  1628-44  were  the  years  of 

the  last  Ming  Emperor.  During  this  reign  the  habit  of 
tobacco  smoking  tended  to  spread  throughout  the  eastern 
portion  of  the  Empire.  The  result  was  a prohibitory 
Edict  against  it.  But  in  vain;  the  habit  could  not  be 
checked  by  law. 

The  Manchus  followed  the  Mings  and  in  the  year 
1641  an  Edict  was  again  published  which  prohibited  the 
smoking  of  tobacco. 

The  prohibitory  Edicts  issued  by  the  last  Ming  and 
first  Manchu  seem  to  have  been  just  as  ineffectual  against 
tobacco  smoking  as  were  the  later  Manchu  Edicts  against 
opium  smoking.  During  the  seventeenth  century  the 
spread  of  the  tobacco  habit  was  as  rapid  and  as  difficult 
to  control  by  Edict  as  the  spread  of  the  opium-smoking 


158  CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


habit  in  the  nineteenth  century.  The  prohibitory  Edicts 
emanated  from  Emperors  who  it  cannot  be  gainsaid  w'ere 
moved  by  a deep  paternal  interest  in  their  people.  The 
common  sense  of  the  better  classes  and  the  propriety  of 
the  Confucian  mind  were  shocked  by  both  practices.  But 
Edicts  and  shocks  to  the  Confucian  mind  were  powerless 
on  the  people  as  a whole.  As  Edkins  remarks : 
“ Tobacco  was  a less  evil  than  the  Emperor  and  people 
supposed.  Opium  smoking  was  a far  greater  evil  than 
they  feared.  . . . The  habit  of  tobacco  smoking  be- 

came national  and  went  on  extending  itself  for  a cen- 
tury, till  the  attention  of  the  Government  was  drawn  to 
opium  smoking  as  a thing  found  in  Formosa  and  at 
Amoy.  It  grew  up  in  the  same  part  of  the  country 
where  tobacco  smoking  had  been  introduced.” 

In  1729  the  Chinese  Government  found  itself  face  to 
face  with  a rapidly  spreading  and  alarming  vice.  Native 
opium  was  being  diverted  from  medicinal  uses  to  pander 
to  an  evil.  The  opium  poppy  began  to  flourish  all  over 
China,  while  imports  of  the  Indian  drug  began  to  move 
upward.  Alarmed,  in  1729,  the  Emperor  issued  an  Edict 
prohibiting  the  sale  of  opium  and  the  opening  of  opium 
divans.  The  penalties  imposed  on  those  who  disobeyed 
were  severe,  the  most  important  being  on  the  sellers  of 
the  drug.  In  1730  another  Edict  was  aimed  at  the  prac- 
tice amongst  the  Chinese  colonists  in  Formosa. 

Since  these  Edicts  were  promulgated,  it  may  be  said 
in  truth  that  the  ruling  authorities  of  China  have  stead- 
fastly regarded  opium  smoking  as  a crime.  These  two 
Edicts  are  the  earliest  legislation  we  know  of  on  opium 
smoking,  and  they  were  necessitated  by  an  evil  practice 
which,  growing,  has  in  our  day  almost  shackled  the  peo- 
ple of  China.  Unfortunately  they  had  but  little  effect.  The 
trade  in  Indian  opium  remained  as  before  or  grew.  Two 
hundred  chests  of  Indian  opium  were  annually  received 


THE  OPIUM  PROBLEM 


159 


at  Canton,  and  by  1767,  just  before  the  East  India  Com- 
pany assumed  the  old  Mogul  monopoly,  the  Canton  im- 
portation had  risen  to  1,000  chests. 

It  should  be  clearly  understood  before  we  proceed 
that  the  increase  in  the  importation  of  Indian  opium  at 
Canton  was  not  the  result  of  undue  pressure  by  Western 
merchants  or  trading  companies.  The  simple  truth  is 
that  the  Chinese  had  discovered  a new  and  alluring  vice, 
and,  like  most  peoples,  had  pronated  to  it.  The  deep- 
seated  ills  attaching  to  the  vice  had  not  come  home  to 
the  common  people,  and  the  history  of  this  opium  problem 
will  show  that  it  was  only  when  the  Chinese  people  as 
a whole  began  to  suffer  from  the  effects  of  the  new  vice 
that  they  lent  their  moral  support  to  the  restrictive  Edicts 
of  their  rulers. 

During  the  growth  of  the  opium  cancer  and  even 
though  Edicts  had  been  directed  against  the  sale  of  opium 
for  smoking  purposes,  the  drug  as  a medicine  could  still 
be  imported  into  China  on  the  payment  of  three  taels  a 
chest,  duty.  Though  the  sale  of  opium  for  smoking 
purposes  was  prohibited,  there  is  no  proof  that  it  was 
refused  at  the  customs  as  a medicinal  drug.  Edkins 
states  that,  “ The  minor  portion  only  of  the  opium  im- 
ported into  China  about  the  time  of  the  conquest  of 
Bengal  by  Clive,  was  devoted  to  smoking.  The  Super- 
intendents of  Customs  still  continued  to  take  the  duty 
on  opium  as  a drug.  . . .”  But  that  a contraband 

trade  in  the  drug  was  coming  into  existence  about  1782, 
that  is,  after  the  taking  over  of  the  Mogul  opium 
monopoly  by  the  East  India  Company,  seems  evident,  al- 
though there  is  only  indirect  evidence  that  the  importa- 
tion of  the  drug  had  been  forbidden  by  the  Chinese. 
This  may  be  shown  by  a quotation  from  a letter  of  Mr. 
Thomas  Fitzhugh  written  from  China  to  a Mr.  Gregory 
in  London. 


i6o  CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 

Mr.  Fitzhugh  writes : “ The  importation  of  opium  to 

China  is  forbidden  under  very  severe  penalties ; the  opium 
on  seizure  is  burnt,  the  vessel  in  which  it  is  brought  to 
port  is  confiscated,  and  the  Chinese  in  whose  possession 
it  is  found  for  sale  is  punishable  with  death.  . . .” 

In  spite  of  official  ban  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  by 
the  last  decade  of  the  eighteenth  century,  what  with 
home-grown  opium  and  the  contraband  Indian  article, 
the  opium-smoking  habit  had  spread  widely  in  eastern 
and  southern  China.  By  1799,  the  year  in  which  the 
East  India  Company  finally  saddled  itself  with  the  old 
Mogul  monopoly,  the  smoking  habit  was  recognized  as  a 
menace  to  the  Peking  populace. 

This  was  too  much  for  the  Peking  authorities.  When 
the  Capital  of  the  Empire  and  the  Metropolitan  Province 
were  menaced  by  the  new  vice,  it  was  time  for  the  Son 
of  Heaven  to  cast  what  to  him  seemed  a deadly  bolt. 
That  he  did.  The  Emperor,  Kiaking  (1798-1821), 
issued  an  Edict  forbidding  the  importation  of  opium  to 
China.  The  Edict,  as  well  as  Mr.  Fitzhugh’s  letter, 
shows  that  for  some  time  previously  opium  had  been  ex- 
cluded from  the  commodities  in  which  trade  by  barter 
was  permitted.  The  drug  had  therefore,  it  would  seem, 
been  contraband  before  the  Edict  was  promulgated.  In 
the  Edict  opium  was  spoken  of  as  “ remarkable  . . . 

for  a quality  of  exciting  and  raising  the  spirits.  The  use 
of  opium  originally  prevailed  only  among  vagrants  and 
disreputable  persons  . . . but  has  since  extended  it- 

self among  the  members  and  descendants  of  reputable 
families,  students,  and  officers  of  Government.  . . . 

When  this  habit  becomes  established  by  frequent  repeti- 
tion, it  gains  an  entire  ascendant,  and  the  consumer  of 
opium  is  not  only  unable  to  forebear  from  its  daily  use, 
but,  on  passing  the  accustomed  hour  ...  he 
. . . cannot  refrain  from  tears  or  command  himself 


THE  OPIUM  PROBLEM 


i6i 


in  any  degree.  . . . The  extraordinary  expense  of 

this  article  is  likewise  to  be  noticed  . . . which  the 

fortunes  of  the  bulk  of  the  community  are  unable  to 
satisfy  . . . and  are  therefore  wholly  dilapidated 

and  wasted  away.”  Then  follow  directions  for  the  en- 
forcement of  the  Edict.  The  entire  Edict  is  worth  read- 
ing, and  may  conveniently  be  found  in  the  “ Journal  of 
International  Law.”  ^ 

We  see  that  by  the  year  1799  the  terrors  that  hung 
over  China  from  the  misuse  of  opium  had  been  rec- 
ognized by  her  rulers,  and  the  most  respectable  means,  an 
Imperial  Edict,  had  been  issued  against  the  further  im- 
portation of  the  drug.  Undoubtedly,  the  ever-enlarging 
Indian  opium  traffic  was  aimed  at.  It  is  time  therefore 
to  pass  back  to  India  and  see  what  had  been  the  cause 
of  the  issue  of  this  Edict.  We  will  find  the  East  India 
Company  deliberately  assuming  the  monopoly  of  the  pro- 
duction of  Bengal  opium  and  of  spawning  the  drug  over 
the  fair  Far  East. 

We  left  the  East  India  Company  in  possession  of 
Bengal  and  the  old  Mogul  opium  monopoly,  as  the  result 
of  Clive’s  victory  at  Plassey,  1757.  Without  going  into 
much  detail  it  may  be  stated  that,  on  the  23d  day  of 
November,  1773,  Warren  Hastings,  who  was  then  Gov- 
ernor General  in  India,  together  with  his  Council,  after 
a full  discussion  of  the  question,  deliberately  voted  to 
assume  the  old  Mogul  opium  monopoly.  In  the  resolu- 
tion passed  there  was  not  a word  about  the  evils  of  the 
abuse  of  opium,  an  evil  that,  it  will  be  shown  directly, 
Hastings  was  fully  aware  of. 

Hastings  was  undoubtedly  responsible  for  the  fixing 
on  the  Far  East  of  what  had  hitherto  been  an  irrespon- 
sible trade.  That  he  was  cynically  possessed  in  the  affair 
may  be  best  shown  by  the  dicta  which  follow,  dicta 
ijuly,  1909. 


i62  china  and  the  FAR  EAST 

which  have  been  the  guiding  policy  of  the  British  Indian 
administration  up  to  quite  recently. 

Dane  has  recorded  that  “ Hastings  urged  that  it  was 
undesirable  to  increase  the  production  of  any  article 
(opium  in  this  instance)  not  necessary  to  life,  and  that 
opium  was  ‘ not  a necessary  of  life,’  but  a pernicious 
article  of  luxury  which  ought  not  to  be  permitted,  but 
for  the  purpose  of  commerce  only,  and  which  the  wisdom 
of  Government  should  carefully  restrain  from  internal 
consumption.” 

Here  in  part,  there  is  stated  a wise  moral  principle, 
and  in  the  whole  a discrimination  in  ethics  that  is  almost 
singular.  A pernicious  article  of  luxury  should  not  be 
produced.  Opium  is  such  an  article.  In  effect  the  Gov- 
ernment of  India  should  carefully  restrain  the  use  of  the 
drug  to  the  Indian  people.  But  export  this  pernicious 
article  to  other  peoples,  and  so  enhance  the  revenue  of 
the  East  India  Company.  No  harm  in  that.  In  pur- 
suance of  this  policy,  Hastings,  was  responsible  for  the 
shipment,  on  account  of  the  Company,  of  several  cargoes 
of  opium  to  China  and  the  Straits  Settlements.  The 
Directors  of  the  Company  in  London  condemned  the 
transactions.  It  was  known  to  them  that  the  Chinese 
Government  had  prohibited  the  sale  of  opium  for  smok- 
ing purposes,  and  they  plainly  told  their  representatives 
in  India  that  it  was  beneath  the  dignity  of  the  Company 
to  venture  into  a clandestine  traffic.  The  export  of  the 
drug  to  China  in  the  ships  of  the  Company  was  there- 
fore prohibited. 

They  saw  no  objection,  however,  to  official  ventures 
in  the  drug  to  the  Straits  of  Malacca.  In  regard  to  such 
ventures,  the  London  directors  thoughtfully  remarked, 
“ Whatever  opium  might  be  in  demand  by  the  Chinese, 
the  quantity  would  readily  find  its  way  thither  without 
the  Company  being  exposed  to  the  disgrace  of  being 


THE  OPIUM  PROBLEM  163 

engaged  in  an  illicit  traffic.”  No  hindrance  was  placed 
in  the  path  of  independent  shippers  who  wished  to  em- 
bark in  the  carriage  of  the  Company’s  opium  to  China. 
When  it  is  noted  that  these  shippers  were  licensed  by 
the  Company,  and  could  only  carry  the  Company’s  opium, 
we  shall  see  that,  altogether,  the  Company  shielded  the 
contraband  opium  traffic  with  its  whole  power. 

One  cannot  jump  to  the  year  1799,  which  was  as  im- 
portant a year  to  the  revenue  derived  by  the  Company 
from  its  opium  monopoly  as  it  was  to  China’s  opium 
problem,  without  recording  some  of  the  reasons  which 
led  Hastings  and  his  successors  to  burden  the  Company 
with  the  old  Mogul  opium  monopoly.  In  1825,  or  there- 
abouts, the  Chinese  were  accused  by  British  apologists 
of  the  opium  traffic,  of  wishing  to  prohibit  the  importa- 
tion of  opium  because  it  resulted  in  the  export  of  silver 
from  China,  the  balance  of  trade  being  against  that 
country.  As  early  as  1785,  one  of  the  forceful  arguments 
urged  by  the  Company’s  representatives  in  India,  in  favor 
of  the  opium  monopoly,  was  that  it  would  preserve  the 
balance  of  trade  to  the  Company. 

In  1785,  under  Sir  John  Macferson,  Hastings’  succes- 
sor, the  principle  was  accepted  that  the  proceeds  of  the 
opium  monopoly  should  be  applied  at  Canton  to  the 
benefit  of  the  Chinese  trade. 

The  Governor  .General  in  Council  was  commended  by 
the  Directors  for  putting  the  opium  trade  upon  a benefi- 
cial footing  to  the  Company,  and  for  supplying  the  super- 
cargo of  the  Company  at  Canton  with  specie  without 
draining  the  Indian  Provinces.  Later,  July  29,  1789, 
Lord  Cornwallis,  the  then  Governor  General,  adduced 
three  reasons  why  the  opium  monopoly  should  be  re- 
tained by  the  Company.  The  third  is  as  follows : “ The 

opium  now  serves  as  a remittance  to  China  to  answer 
the  bills  drawn  upon  Canton  for  the  provision  of  the  in- 


164 


CPHNA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


vestment  (i.  e.,  the  general  Chinese  trade).  Were  the 
trade  (opium)  to  be  laid  open,  it  is  probable  that  this 
reserve  might  in  some  measure  fail,  and  occasion  the 
exportation  of  large  sums  in  silver  from  this  country 
(India),  already  too  much  drained  of  its  circulating 
specie.” 

Under  the  guiding  principles  worked  out  by  Hastings, 
Macferson  and  Cornwallis,  and  sanctioned  by  the  Com- 
pany’s directors  in  London,  the  opium  monopoly  was 
finally  established  in  India  by  Bengal  Regulation  6,  of 
1799 ; that  is  the  same  year  in  which  a humanitarian  Em- 
peror of  China,  knowing  of  the  growth  and  evil  con- 
sequences of  the  contraband  opium  trade,  and  realizing 
the  wreckage  caused  by  the  smoking  of  the  drug,  issued 
his  famous  Edict  forbidding  its  entry  to  China. 

Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  the  year  1799  was  the  crucial 
year  of  the  opium  problem.  The  Emperor  of  a great 
people  had  taken  a wise  step  to  preserve  the  morals  of 
his  people.  A trading  company  had  deliberately  em- 
barked on  the  production  of  an  “ Article  not  necessary  to 
life.  ...  A pernicious  article  of  luxury  which  the 
wisdom  of  Government  should  carefully  restrain.” 

Neglecting  Hastings’  economic  principle,  and  accept- 
ing his  moral  dictum,  and  along  with  this  accepting  the 
wisdom  of  the  Chinese  Emperor’s  Edict,  it  is  almost  non- 
sense to  consider  the  pros  and  cons  of  the  opium  problem 
from  1799  onwards.  The  evils  of  opium  were  plainly 
recognized  by  both  parties  to  the  dispute,  and  the  traffic 
ought  to  have  been  suppressed.  That  was  the  opinion  of 
many  wise  Englishmen  of  that  day.  But  as  the  pros  and 
cons  of  the  question,  after  1799,  led  to  war,  the  opening 
of  China  and  to  an  enlargement  and  steadier  fixation  of 
the  opium  evil  on  the  Far  East,  something  more  must 
necessarily  be  said. 

No  good  purpose  will  be  served  to  detail  the  British- 


THE  OPIUM  PROBLEM 


Chinese  bickerings  on  opium,  and  the  diplomatic  questions 
that  sprang  from  them,  during  the  years  from  1799  to 
the  breaking  out  of  the  so-called  Opium  War  in  1839. 
Those  years  have  been  analyzed  in  a most  masterly  way 
by  Brinkley,-  while  nearly  all  later  writers,  as  well  as 
the  trend  of  events  for  the  solution  of  the  opium  problem, 
place  the  Chinese  almost  wholly  in  the  right  and  the  East 
India  Company,  and  afterwards  Great  Britain,  almost 
wholly  in  wrong. 

Suffice  it  to  say  that  the  higher  Chinese  authorities 
never  wavered  in  their  opposition  to  the  spread  of  the 
opium  evils  and  the  contraband  opium  trade,  although 
minor  Chinese  officials  connived  at  it.  Contraband 
traders  bought  freely  of  Indian  opium  at  Calcutta  and 
by  hook  or  crook  got  it  on  shore,  chiefly  at  Canton,  and 
did  not  hesitate  to  introduce  it  too  at  other  Chinese  ports 
higher  up  the  coast.  The  exportation  from  India  to 
China  grew  enormously,  from  1,000  chests  in  1800  to 
18,000  chests  in  1839. 

In  the  year  1839  the  Chinese  Emperor  and  his  advisers 
determined  to  make  an  effective  stand  in  the  moral  and 
economic  interests  of  their  people.  To  this  end,  one  of 
the  most  remarkable  characters  in  Chinese  history  was 
sent  to  Canton  with  special  powers  to  stop  the  contraband 
trade  in  opium — Special  High  Commissioner  Lin,  to  give 
him  his  full  title.  Mr.  King,  an  American  merchant 
at  Canton,  has  given  an  impression  of  him:  “From  the 
whole  drift  of  his  conversation  and  inquiries  during  the 
interview,  it  seemed  very  evident  that  the  sole  object  of 
the  Commissioner  was  to  do  away  with  the  traffic  in 
opium,  and  to  protect  that  which  is  legitimate  and  honor- 
able.” 

It  is  a Chinese  fashion  to  issue  proclamations  broad- 

- In  House  of  Commons  Resolution,  May,  1906.  Journal  of 
International  Law,  July,  1909. 


i66 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


cast.  On  his  arrival  at  Canton,  Lin  proceeded  to  do  so, 
intending  that  there  should  be  no  mistake  as  to  his  ob- 
ject. To  the  foreign  merchants  he  said:  “Why  do 

you  bring  to  our  land  the  opium  which  in  your  land  is 
not  made  use  of,  by  its  defrauding  men  of  their  property 
and  causing  injury  to  their  lives?  I find  that  with  this 
thing  you  have  seduced  and  deluded  the  people  of  China 
for  tens  of  years  past;  and  countless  are  the  unjust 
hoards  you  have  thus  acquired.  Such  conduct  arouses 
indignation  in  every  human  heart,  and  it  is  utterly  in- 
excusable in  the  eye  of  Celestial  reason.” 

Lin  not  satisfied  with  appealing  to  the  Canton  mer- 
chants, and  be  it  understood  that  there  were  Americans 
amongst  them,  and  the  Chinese  people,  composed  an 
address,  which  he  meant  to  have  forwarded  to  Queen 
Victoria,  then  on  the  British  throne.  The  following  is 
an  extract  from  it:  “Your  honorable  nation,  though 

beyond  the  wide  ocean,  acknowledges  the  same  ways  of 
Heaven,  and  has  a like  perception  of  the  distinction  be- 
tween benefit  and  injury.  . . . But  there  is  a tribe 

of  depraved  and  barbarous  people,  who,  having  manu- 
factured opium  for  smoking,  bring  it  hither  for  sale, 
and  seduce  and  lead  astray  the  simple  folk,  to  the  destruc- 
tion of  their  persons  and  the  draining  of  their  resources. 
Formerly  the  smokers  thereof  were  few,  but  of  late  the 
practice  has  spread.  . . . Hence  those  who  deal  in 

opium,  or  who  inhale  its  fumes  within  this  land,  are  all 
now  to  be  subjected  to  severest  punishment,  and  a per- 
petual interdict  is  to  be  placed  on  the  practice  so  exten- 
sively prevailing.  . . . Doubtless  you,  the  Honorable 

Sovereign  of  that  nation,  have  not  commanded  the  manu- 
facture and  sale  of  it.  . . . We  have  heard  that  in 

your  honorable  nation  the  people  are  not  permitted  to 
inhale  the  drug.  . . . But  what  is  the  prohibition  of 

its  use  in  comparison  with  the  prohibition  of  its  sale  and 


THE  OPIUM  PROBLEM  167 

manufacture,  as  a means  of  thoroughly  purifying  the 
source?  . . . We  would  now  then  concert  with  your 

Honorable  Sovereignty,  means  to  bring  to  a perpetual 
end  this  opium,  so  hurtful  to  mankind,  we  in  this  land 
forbidding  the  use  of  it,  and  you  in  the  nations  under 
your  dominion  forbidding  its  manufacture.  . . . 

Will  not  the  result  of  this  be  the  enjoyment  by  each  of  a 
felicitous  condition  of  peace?” 

Strange  that  in  the  year  1907  Great  Britain  and  China 
should  enter  into  just  such  an  agreement.  For  begin- 
ning with  the  year  1908,  Great  Britain  undertook  to  cut 
down  her  production  and  e.xportation  of  Indian  opium 
by  one-tenth  per  annum,  China  agreeing  to  a pari  passu 
ten  per  cent,  per  annum  reduction  in  her  own  production 
and  abuse  of  the  drug.  Lin  must  have  turned  in  his 
tomb  when  this  agreement  was  signed. 

To  continue  our  narration:  Complicated  and  angry 

relations  soon  developed  between  Commissioner  Lin  and 
Captain  Elliott,  who  as  Superintendent  of  Trade  repre- 
sented England  in  China.  The  result  was  that  Lin 
placed  guards  about  the  factories  at  Canton.  Later,  sus- 
pecting that  Elliott  was  about  to  withdraw  the  whole 
foreign  community,  Lin  “ doubled  the  guards,  and  drew 
around  the  factories  a cordon  of  troops  and  cruisers 
marshaled  in  menacing  array.”  ® In  the  face  of  this 
demonstration,  foreign  merchants  of  all  nationalities, 
with  few  exceptions,  signed  a document  pledging  them- 
selves “ Not  to  deal  in  opium  or  to  attempt  to  introduce 
it  into  the  Chinese  Empire.”^  But  Lin  wanted  more. 
He  wanted  all  of  the  opium  in  the  factories,  and  bonds 
placing  the  lives  and  properties  of  future  smugglers  at 
the  disposal  of  the  Chinese  authorities.  To  the  former 
demand  Elliott  acceded.  He  issued  a circular  calling 
upon  the  British  merchants  to  “ surrender  to  the  service 
of  Her  Majestie’s  Government,”  all  the  opium  in  their 
^ Brinkley.  * Ibid. 


i68 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


possession,  and  he  officially  accepted  “ the  most  full  and 
unreserved  responsibility  on  account  of  the  property  thus 
handed  over.”  Twenty  thousand  two  hundred  and 
eighty-three  chests  of  opium  were  delivered  to  him.  It 
was  valued  at  between  two  to  three  millions.  Lin 
promptly  destroyed  it.  Undoubtedly  it  was  one  of  the 
happiest  days  of  his  life. 

After  the  surrender  of  the  opium,  there  were  several 
defiant  cases  of  smuggling.  Later,  in  April,  1839,  a 
riot  occurred  at  Hong  Kong  in  which  a Chinese  was 
killed ; yet  later  there  was  an  exchange  of  shots  between 
the  parties  and  the  war  was  precipitated. 

The  British  Government  determined  to  support  Cap- 
tain Elliott  in  carrying  on  war,  but  repudiated  the 
financial  responsibility  he  had  assumed  on  the  delivery 
of  the  opium  to  him  by  the  foreign  merchants. 

I need  not  describe  the  actual  conflict  that  now  took 
place;  as  the  so-called  Opium  War  it  has  its  place  in 
history.  All  that  need  be  said  about  it  here  is  that  it 
was  ended  by  the  Treaty  of  Nanking.  That  Treaty  was 
signed  in  1842.  When  it  came  to  be  examined  it  was 
found  that  the  great  cause  of  the  war  was  scarcely  men- 
tioned. There  was  not  a word  in  it  that  compelled  the 
Chinese  to  receive  Indian  opium.  No  attempt  was  made 
by  the  Treaty  to  legalize  the  opium  trade.  However, 
Article  IV.  of  the  Treaty  pledged  the  Chinese  as  follows: 
“ The  Emperor  of  China  agrees  to  pay  the  sum  of  $6,- 
000,000  as  the  value  of  opium  which  was  delivered  up 
at  Canton  in  the  middle  of  March,  1839.” 

As  to  whether  the  Treaty  of  Nanking  ended  a war 
that  could  be  fairly  called  an  Opium  War,  has  been  dis- 
cussed ad  nauseam.  This  is  certain : By  compelling  the 

Chinese  Government  to  pay  for  the  destroyed  opium, 
after  the  agent  of  the  British  Government  had  assumed 


THE  OPIUM  PROBLEM 


i6q 

the  financial  responsibility,  it  fixed  in  the  Chinese  mind 
and  in  all  defenders  of  the  Chinese,  that  it  was  indeed 
an  Opium  War. 

There  is  a popular  misconception  that  the  Treaty  of 
Nanking  legalized  the  Indo-Chinese  opium  traffic.  This 
is  a mistake.  The  traffic  was  and  remained  a contraband 
traffic  until  the  Treaty  of  Tientsin,  1858.  But  there  is 
no  doubt  that  Article  IV.  of  the  Nanking  Treaty  broke 
down  any  effective  resistance  which  the  Chinese  authori- 
ties had  brought  against  it,  and  the  traffic,  though  still 
officially  contraband,  was  openly  and  without  hindrance 
pursued.  Chinese  officials  connived  at  it.  It  grew  apace, 
and  from  an  importation  of  i8,ocx)  chests  in  1839  there 
was  a growth  to  50,000  chests  in  1858,  when  the  Arrow 
War,  or  second  British  war  with  China,  broke  out.  The 
result  of  this  war  was  the  Tientsin  Treaty  of  1858  and 
the  legalization  of  the  opium  traffic.  For  the  Chinese 
Government,  being  wholly  unable  to  command  the  con- 
traband trade,  permitted  opium  to  enter  the  country  on 
the  payment  of  30  taels  duty  per  picul.  No  doubt  In- 
dian financiers  smiled,  for  they  saw  the  Indian  opium 
revenue  entrenched,  it  would  seem,  for  all  time. 

By  the  end  of  the  last  century,  as  the  result  of  a two 
hundred  years’  struggle  against  the  debasing  habit  of 
opium  smoking,  China  found  herself  bound  hand  and 
foot  by  treaties  ® legalizing  the  traffic,  and  some  sixty 
thousand  piculs  of  foreign  opium — chiefly  Indian — pour- 
ing in  on  her,  and  an  internal  production  of  the  drug 
that  had  grown  to  the  enormous  total  of  three  hundred 
and  twenty-five  to  thirty  thousand  piculs,  all  used  for 
smoking  purposes.  So  much  for  the  effect  of  the  Indian 

® France,  America,  Russia  and  other  powers  accepted  the 
British  treaty  of  1858  as  the  basis  of  their  future  relations  with 
China. 


170  CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 

opium  traffic  on  China.  What  has  been  the  effect  of  that 
traffic  on  other  Eastern  peoples? 

Turning  to  India  first:  did  the  East  India  Company, 
and  after  the  oblivion  of  that  Company  in  1834,  the 
British  Government,  in  accepting  Hastings’  advice  that 
opium  was  for  commerce  only,  accept  his  dictum  that 
the  wisdom  of  the  Government  should  carefully  restrain 
its  use  by  the  people  in  its  immediate  charge.  Certainly 
not.  An  excise  system  was  organized  in  British  India, 
through  which  to  this  day  the  people  of  India,  under 
British  rule,  are  supplied  with  what  opium  they  want. 
The  main  object  of  this  system  is  to  prevent  the 
use  of  opium,  except  that  produced  by  the  Bengal  opium 
monopoly.  The  British  Royal  Commission  on  the  opium 
question  practically  pronounced  in  their  1895  Report 
that  the  use  of  the  drug  by  the  Indian  people  was,  on  the 
whole,  beneficial.  Until  recently  that  idea  has  dominated 
the  British  Indian  administration. 

Now  turn  to  Burma.  “ Formerly  there  was  a strong 
religious  feeling  among  the  Buddhists  (the  Burmans  are 
Buddhists),  against  the  use  of  opium,  as  there  is  in 
Japan,  one  of  the  cardinal  commandments  of  Buddha 
being  interpreted  to  forbid  the  use  of  opium  as  well  as 
intoxicants.  As  Buddhism  continues  to  lose  its  power, 
this  feeling  continues  to  diminish  in  intensity.  On  the 
other  hand,  wherever  there  is  a strong  Buddhist  feeling, 
there  is  a religious  and  social  denunciation  of  the  opium 
vice.  In  such  places  a Buddhist  who  smokes  opium  is 
classed  with  thieves,  liars  and  outcasts ; and  the  term 
‘ opium  smoker  ’ is  regarded  by  the  Burmese  as  the 
epithet  ‘ liar  ’ is  by  the  Anglo-Saxon.  Buddhism  was 
once  so  strong  a force  as  to  keep  the  Burmese  from  the 
use  of  opium ; but  this  force  became  weakened  by  con- 
tact with  English  influence.  As  a people  usually  passes 
from  one  religion  to  another  through  a period  of  ethical 


THE  OPIUM  PROBLEM 


171 


disorganization,  during  which  evil  influences  are  likely  to 
triumph,  so  the  Burmese,  passing  from  Buddhism  to- 
wards Christianity,  have  reached  the  ethical  condition  in 
which  opium,  morphia  and  cocaine  can  do  the  greatest 
harm.” 

So  state  the  Opium  Committee  appointed  in  1904  by 
the  Philippine  Government  to  study  the  opium  problem 
as  it  then  appeared  in  the  Far  East.  British  contact  with 
Burma  was  the  cause  of  the  spread  of  the  opium  habit 
amongst  that  people,  and  this  at  the  time  when  the  moral 
force  of  Buddhism  began  to  lose  force. 

In  British  India  the  British  found  the  opium  habit 
established  before  their  entry,  and  they  have  done  little 
or  nothing  to  check  it.  On  the  other  hand,  when  they 
entered  Burma  they  found  the  Burmese,  on  the  whole, 
opposed  to  the  habit.  But  it  soon  spread  with  direful 
consequences.  Yet  it  is  to  the  credit  of  Indian  admin- 
istrators that  as  soon  as  the  evil  effect  of  the  habit  was 
observed  on  the  Burmans,  strenuous  attempts  were  made 
to  check  the  sale  and  use  of  the  drug  amongst  them. 

In  Ceylon,  where  before  British  influence  there  was 
little  or  no  use  of  opium,  there  has  been  an  enormous 
growth  of  the  habit.  It  would  be  dangerous  to  state 
that  the  habit  in  this  island  was  deliberately  fostered  in 
the  interests  of  the  revenue-producing  opium  monopoly 
of  British  India  proper.  In  1840  there  was  an  importa- 
tion of  the  drug  into  Ceylon,  amounting  to  1,562  pounds. 
In  1900,  23,000  pounds.  These  figures  tell  only  too  truly 
of  the  rise  of  the  opium  habit  amongst  the  Singalese. 

The  Straits  Settlements  and  Federated  Malay  States 
of  the  Malay  Peninsula  contain  a large  Chinese  popula- 
tion. They  have  therefore  been  large  fields  for  the  ex- 
ploitation of  Indian-produced  opium.  So  also  in  Hong 
Kong.  In  this  Island  as  well  as  in  the  Straits  Settle- 
ments and  Federated  Malay  States,  the  sale  of  opium  is 


172 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


farmed  to  the  highest  responsible  bidder,  and  all  three 
administrations  derive  a large  revenue  from  the  sale  of 
the  farm. 

In  the  Philippine  Islands  it  was  the  custom  under 
Spanish  rule  to  farm  the  sale  of  opium,  and  fully  thirty 
per  cent,  of  the  Chinese  population  were  addicted  to  the 
habit.  It  began  to  spread  to  the  Filipinos  themselves, 
threatening  moral  and  economic  disaster.  The  impor- 
tation of  opium  is,  however,  now  forbidden  except  for 
medicinal  purposes. 

In  the  United  States,  Canada  and  Australia®  fully 
thirty  per  cent,  of  the  Chinese  population  were  addicted 
to  the  habit  of  opium  smoking,  and  it  is  beyond  doubt 
that  the  habit  has  tended  to  spread  to  the  undesirable 
elements  of  the  white  people  of  all  of  the.se  countries. 

It  should  be  remembered  that  this  enormous  use  of 
opium,  either  internally  as  in  India,  or  for  smoking 
amongst  the  Chinese,  depends  primarily  on  the  opium 
produced  by  the  British  Indian  opium  monopoly.  A 
.small  part  of  it  is  lower  grade  Turkish  and  Persian 
opium.  But  the  chief  beneficiary  is  the  British  Indian 
Government  through  its  opium  monopoly. 

It  should  not  be  thought  that  this  opium  problem  has 
grown  without  protest.  Statesmen,  humanitarians,  Brit- 
ish chiefly,  but  those  of  other  nations,  have  inveighed 
against  it.  Active  movements  have  been  set  afoot  to 
counteract  it,  and  in  1894  it  seemed  that  the  Indian 
opium  traffic  was  in  for  its  quietus  when  the  friends  of 
the  movement,  both  within  and  without  the  British  Par- 
liament, succeeded  in  having  a Royal  Commission  ap- 
pointed to  study  and  report  on  the  problem.  But  the 
sympathizers  of  this  movement  were  doomed  to  disap- 
pointment, for  the  Royal  Commission’s  Report  nullified 

® In  all  these  countries  the  importation  and  manufacture  of 
smoking  opium  is  now  prohibited. 


THE  OPIUM  PROBLEM 


173 


the  efforts  that  had  been  made  to  bring  the  Indian  opium 
traffic  to  an  end.  Despondency  reigned  for  ten  years. 

Then  the  American  Government  in  the  Philippines 
found  itself  confronted  by  the  fact  that  opium  smoking 
was  on  the  increase  in  the  Islands.  Not  only  were  the 
Chinese  becoming  demoralized,  but  the  habit  of  opium 
smoking  was  spreading  to  the  native  Filipinos  them- 
selves. A Committee  appointed  by  the  Islands  Govern- 
ment studied  the  opium  problem  as  it  appeared  in  the 
Far  East,  and  in  1905  reported  against  it.  .A.s  a result 
restrictive  measures  were  taken  and  finally  a prohibitory 
law  was  made  effective  March,  1908,  which  forbade  the 
importation  of  opium  into  the  Philippines,  except  for 
medicinal  purposes. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  Chinese  statesmen,  the 
foreign  mission  body  in  China,  and  those  members  of  the 
Chinese  community  who  took  an  interest  in  external 
affairs,  were  deeply  interested  in  the  effort  of  a great 
friendly  Power  to  eradicate  the  opium  evil  from  its  re- 
cently acquired  territory.  When  it  was  seen  that,  and 
we  may  use  the  words  of  Lord  Morley : “ The  United 
States  so  regarded  the  evils  of  opium  smoking  that  it 
would  not  even  passively  assent  to  its  citizens  engaging 
in  the  traffic,”  there  was  great  joy  in  China.  Her  states- 
men took  heart  and  before  long  a movement  was  on  foot 
to  suppress  the  opium  evil  in  China.  To  this  end  an 
agreement  was  made  with  Great  Britain  that  the  export 
of  opium  from  India  to  all  countries  should  be  reduced 
per  annum  by  one-tenth  of  the  then  average  import  of 
the  Indian  drug  into  China.  This  was  determined  to  be 
52,000  chests.  Therefore,  the  total  export  from  India, 
or  67,000  chests,  was  to  be  reduced  by  5.200  chests  a 
year.  This  agreement  is  for  ten  years,  beginning  Janu- 
ary I,  1908.  China  on  her  part  agreed  to  reduce  her  in- 
ternal production  of  opium  by  one-tenth  per  annum,  pari 


174  CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 

passu  with  the  Indian  reduction  in  production  and  ex- 
port. 

At  this  point  the  United  States  intervened  by  inviting 
the  Powers  with  material  interests  in  the  Far  East  to 
join  her  in  an  International  Opium  Commission  whose 
duty  it  should  be  to  study  the  opium  problem  in  all  its 
aspects,  and  report  as  to  the  proper  means  for  its  solu- 
tion. This  invitation  the  Powers  accepted  in  a most 
gracious  spirit,  and  on  February  i,  1909,  delegations 
from  America,  China,  France,  Germany,  Great  Britain, 
Holland,  Italy,  Japan,  Austro-Hungary,  Persia,  Portugal, 
Russia,  and  Siam  met  at  Shanghai  and  entered  upon  their 
labors. 

The  result  was  a thorough  expose  of  the  opium  prob- 
lem, its  condemnation,  and  certain  unanimous  Declara- 
tions as  to  the  best  means  of  solving  it.  Except  for  their 
moral  effect  these  Declarations  had  no  binding  force. 
But  it  was  recognized  from  the  first  day  that  the  Com- 
mission met,  that  if  a unanimous  verdict  against  the 
opium  evil  could  be  achieved,  it  would  be  incumbent 
upon  the  American  Government  to  take  a step  that 
would  convert  the  Declarations  of  the  Shanghai  Com- 
mission into  international  law.  Some  dissatisfaction 
has  been  expressed  because  the  Shanghai  Commission 
did  not  finally  settle  the  opium  problem.  But  that  Com- 
mission was  from  the  first  a Commission  for  study  and 
report.  It  had  no  powers  beyond  these.  Having  little, 
or  comparatively  little,  material  interest  in  the  opium 
question,  and  having  convened  the  Commission,  it  became 
the  duty  of  the  American  delegates,  in  their  leadership, 
to  work  for  harmony  and  unanimity.  Should  the  Com- 
mission break  up  with  a majority  and  minority  report, 
the  entire  question  would  again  be  in  the  melting  pot; 
the  earnestness  that  undoubtedly  lay  behind  Great  Brit- 
ain’s entry  into  the  Ten  Year  Agreement  with  China 


THE  OPIUM  PROBLEM 


175 


would  have  been  chilled,  and  the  reform  movement  in 
China  would  have  received  a fatal  blow.  Further,  it 
would  have  been  impossible  for  the  United  States  to 
have  retained  the  initiative  in  the  international  move- 
ment. 

Fortunately  the  Shanghai  Commission  moved  har- 
moniously, and  adjourned  after  adopting  unanimous 
Declarations.  This  left  the  field  clear  for  the  American 
Government  to  call  an  International  Conference  with 
full-powers  to  conventionalize  the  Shanghai  Declarations 
and  such  questions  as  grew  out  of  them.  This  the 
American  Government  has  done.  It  would  be  out  of 
place  to  dilate  on  the  proposed  Conference  at  the  present 
juncture.  But  there  seems  no  reason  to  doubt  that  by 
the  co-operation  of  those  Powers  with  the  United  States, 
who  have  large  financial  as  well  as  moral  interests  in  the 
opium  problem,  it  will  be  but  a short  time  when  that 
problem  will  be  solved  by  international  law.  Too  much 
praise  cannot  be  bestowed  on  Great  Britain,  who  after  a 
hundred  years’  stubborn  fight  to  retain  her  Indian  opium 
revenue,  is  now  showing  her  ability  to  dispense  with  that 
revenue,  and  her  willingness  to  join  with  China  in  sup- 
pressing her  opium  evil. 


/ A 


/ ' 


X 


THE  CHINESE  ARMY— ITS  DEVELOPMENT 
AND  PRESENT  STRENGTH 

A COMBINATION  of  great  events,  coming  in  quick  suc- 
cession, is  responsible  for  the  awakening  of  China.  The 
events  were  the  Boxer  rebellion,  the  capture  of  Pekin 
and  the  Manchurian  War.  As  generally  occurs  at  such 
times  also,  a man  was  ready  in  the  person  of  Yuan  Shih 
Kai,  the  Viceroy  of  Chihli,  who  possessed  the  necessary 
ability  and  force  to  give  direction  to  events. 

From  1903  to  1906  he  formed  six  divisions  of  troops, 
armed,  equipped  and  disciplined  them,  brought  them  to- 
gether for  grand  maneuvers.  From  every  point  of  view 
it  was  a great  event  to  raise  a modern  army  of  80,000 
men  in  three  years  in  the  land  which  was  well  known  to 
be  the  most  backward  in  the  world  in  military  matters. 

The  influence  of  Yuan  Shih  Kai  went  into  other  hands 
soon  after  his  first  great  performance.  Four  of  his  di- 
visions were  taken  from  him  and  placed  in  the  hands  of 
a Board  of  War,  but  the  trained  men  of  his  battalions 
have  been  scattered  abroad  to  form  the  nucleus  for  others 
soon  to  be  raised  throughout  the  Empire. 

The  first  plans  for  an  Imperial  army,  formed  in  1907, 
were  grand  enough.  The  scheme  was  for  thirty-six  di- 
visions of  troops,  or  two  for  each  province  of  the  Em- 
pire, to  be  formed  in  five  years.  The  model  was  the 
armies  of  Germany  and  Japan.  Each  of  the  thirty-six 
divisions  was  to  consist  of  two  brigades ; each  brigade  of 
two  regiments;  each  regiment  of  three  battalions;  mak- 
ing 432  battalions  in  all.  The  divisions  were  to  be  each 

177 


178 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


a small  army  in  itself,  numbering  about  13,000  men,  in- 
cluding, besides  the  two  brigades  of  infantry,  a regiment 
of  cavalry,  a regiment  of  artillery,  a battalion  of  engi- 
neers, a battalion  of  transport  troops  and  a company  of 
sanitary  (or  hospital)  troops.  In  time  of  peace  this 
would  give  about  460,000  men. 

The  term  of  service  in  the  peace  army  was  fixed  at 
three  years.  Service  was  to  be  voluntary  so  long  as  the 
necessary  contingents  could  be  gotten  in  that  way.  In 
the  course  of  time  it  was  contemplated  that  the  ordinary 
form  of  compulsory  military  service  would  be  adopted. 

With  a three-year  term  of  enlistment  it  would  be  nec- 
essary to  discharge  one-third  of  the  army  each  year  and 
to  replace  them  by  new  men.  The  new  men  would  be 
taken  from  the  great  mass  of  youths  who  reach  the  age 
of  twenty  years  during  the  year.  In  a country  as  large 
as  China  at  the  least  calculation  this  annual  class  would 
be  a million  and  a half  men,  and  to  keep  up  an  army  of 

460.000  it  would  only  be  necessary  to  use  one  in  ten,  or 
half  the  proportion  used  in  Japan.  When  discharged  the 
men  would  go  to  their  homes,  and  three  years  would  be 
passed  in  the  first  reserve,  three  years  in  the  second  re- 
serve, and  three  years  in  the  National  army,  making 
twelve  years  of  obligation  of  military  service,  for  those 
who  had  been  called  to  the  colors.  This  would  mean 

150.000  trained  and  drilled  men  added  to  the  reserve 
each  year. 

It  was  planned  that  the  last  of  the  new  army  was  to  be 
ready  in  1912.  In  nine  years  more  (in  1920)  nine  classes 
of  trained  reserves  would  be  available.  Thus  a military 
force  of  a million  and  a half  of  men  are  counted  on  and 
provided  for  by  the  far-reaching  schemes  of  the  War 
Board  of  China.  In  time  of  war  each  of  the  peace  di- 
visions of  13,000  would  be  raised  with  reserves  to 
25,000,  making  900,000  men,  and  a reserve  di- 


THE  CHINESE  ARMY 


179 


vision  for  each  regular  division  would  take  up  the 
balance  of  the  instructed  men-  The  head  of  the  army 
is  Tieh  Liang,  formerly  a supporter  of  Yuan  Shih  Kai, 
but  now  a rival.  He  is  without  military  training,  but 
seems  to  have  executive  ability. 

In  addition  to  this,  plans  for  militar)'  schools  were 
made,  and  machine  shops  and  cartridge  factories  were 
ordered  in  each  province.  Three  new  arsenals  for  the 
manufacture  of  guns,  rifles,  equipment,  and  war  material 
of  every  kind  were  to  be  established.  A general  staff  of 
approved  model,  along  the  well-known  lines  of  the  Ger- 
man and  Japanese,  was  ordered. 

With  such  plans  every  officer  would  in  the  course  of 
time  be  a graduate  of  a national  military  academy,  all 
war  material  would  be  manufactured  within  the  country 
itself,  and  the  higher  duties  of  command  would  be  in 
the  hands  of  specially  trained  officers. 

Sir  Robert  Hart,  the  distinguished  Englishman  who 
has  for  many  years  been  in  charge  of  the  customs  serv- 
ice of  the  Empire,  estimated  that  with  a logical  revenue 
system  based  on  a land  tax  the  revenues  of  the  Empire 
could  be  raised  to  six  hundred  million  dollars  a year, 
affording  ample  funds  for  the  support  of  the  army,  for 
building  of  a navy  and  leaving  a large  reserve  for  in- 
ternal improvements.  So  far  his  recommendations  have 
not  been  approved.  Here  lies  the  greatest  difficulty  to  suc- 
cess. The  Empire  practically'  consists  of  a number  of 
sovereign  states,  each  one  governed  by  a Viceroy.  The 
Viceroys  are  charged  with  the  raising  of  revenue  within 
their  own  jurisdictions  and  are  practically  independent 
of  the  general  Government.  As  a result  the  aggregate 
revenue  of  the  Empire  seems  to  be  absurdly  small,  and 
will  remain  so  until  some  national  system  of  finance  is 
adopted,  following  the  general  plan  of  Sir  Robert  Hart, 
or  some  other  plan  suited  to  its  needs  and  resources. 


i8o  CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 

The  thirty-six  divisions  were  by  no  means  the  limit  of 
China’s  ambition.  Still  other  schemes  for  an  Imperial 
Guard  Corps  and  for  forty-five  divisions  have  been  ap- 
proved. As,  however,  the  scheme  of  thirty-six  divisions 
is  still  incomplete  it  w'ill  be  well  to  ignore  the  others  and 
to  consider  how  far  those  plans  have  progressed  up  to 
the  present. 

Two  years  have  now  passed  out  of  the  five  years  which 
were  fixed  as  the  time  for  the  formation  of  the  great  Chi- 
nese army.  The  scheme  itself  might  well  have  been  be- 
yond the  fondest  dream  of  the  greatest  soldier  who  ever 
lived.  The  armies  of  Alexander,  Caesar,  Hannibal,  and 
Napoleon  were  not  made  by  the  men  who  led  them  to 
victory.  They  are  always  the  product  of  many  years  of 
national  aspiration,  or  lust  of  power  or  hope  of  revenge. 
It  is  entirely  too  soon  to  judge  of  such  a mighty  task  as 
the  formation  of  a modern  army  in  such  a country  as 
China,  but  we  can  tell  what  has  been  done. 

Of  infantry  about  220  battalions  out  of  the  420  re- 
quired to  make  up  the  thirty-six  divisions  had  been 
formed  at  the  beginning  of  the  present  year.  The  forma- 
tion of  the  remaining  200  battalions  was  to  be  distrib- 
uted over  the  current  year,  1909,  and  the  next  three  years 
at  an  average  rate  of  fifty  battalions  per  year. 

The  cavalry  and  artillery  have  not  gone  so  far  as  the 
infantry,  and  less  than  half  of  the  organizations  have 
been  formed.  Special  troops  of  engineers,  telegraph, 
transport  and  medical  services  are  somewhat  further  be- 
hind. 

On  the  whole  the  Chinese  army  now  numbers  200,000 
men  of  all  arms,  of  which  probably  120,000  may  be  said 
to  be  well  instructed,  armed  and  equipped  and  able  to 
give  a good  account  of  themselves  in  a war. 

As  the  system  has  only  begun,  there  has  not  been  time 
to  accumulate  large  reserves  of  instructed  men.  This,  as 


THE  CHINESE  ARMY 


i8i 


I said  before,  will  not  be  done  completely  until  1920,  even 
if  the  present  plans  are  not  delayed.  At  present  only  two 
of  the  divisions  have  reserves — two  of  Yuan’s  original 
divisions  have  discharged  enough  men  to  raise  them  from 
a peace  to  a war  strength  and  to  provide  the  additional 
reserve  brigade,  which  is  added  in  time  of  war  to  each 
division. 

To  arm  these  masses  China  has  been  obliged  to  use 
weapons  that  are  considered  somewhat  out  of  date. 
There  are  four  types  of  rifles,  mostly  Mausers  and  Japa- 
nese Murata  rifles  of  old  pattern.  They  are,  however, 
breech-loading,  small-caliber  weapons,  not  to  be  despised, 
even  if  they  do  not  reach  the  ideal  which  some  nations 
set.  In  fact  they  are  the  weapons  which  have  been  used 
in  the  great  wars  of  most  recent  date. 

It  is  so  also  with  the  artillery  wdiere  even  a greater  dif- 
ference of  types  is  to  be  observed.  This  is,  undoubtedly, 
a serious  drawback,  owing,  of  course,  to  the  great  diffi- 
culty of  providing  ammunition. 

The  scheme  is  to  furnish  arms  and  artillery  of  the  latest 
and  of  a uniform  type  to  the  entire  army  also  by  the  close 
of  1912,  when  the  army  is  complete.  It  is  doubtful  if 
this  will  be  done,  but  certainly  a steadily  increasing  num- 
ber of  new  weapons  will  be  furnished.  For  the  manu- 
facture of  w'ar  material  there  now  exist  the  great  arse- 
nals at  Hankow  and  Shanghai,  which  have  a capacity  of 
perhaps  30,000  rifles  and  100  guns  per  year — but  it  is 
planned  to  build  three  additional  arsenals,  so  far  in  the 
interior  as  to  be  safe  from  outside  enterprises.  At  pres- 
ent they  have  to  depend  upon  foreign  workmen  to  a con- 
siderable extent.  In  addition  each  province  has  now  al- 
ready formed  or  in  process  of  formation  repair  shops 
and  powder  cartridge  factories. 

For  the  education  of  officers  for  this  great  army  many 
schools  are  necessary.  In  each  province  a cadet  school 


i82  china  and  the  FAR  EAST 

is  established.  There  are  four  officers’  schools  for  a 
more  advanced  course  and  a war  college  is  to  be  estab- 
lished for  the  special  instruction  of  a general  staff.  One 
of  the  most  illuminating  results  of  this  military  policy  is 
the  establishment  of  a special  military  school  for  the 
sons  of  the  nobility  and  the  royal  family. 

For  these  schools  there  are  a number  of  Japanese  in- 
structors and  some  German,  but  the  majority  are  Chi- 
nese who  have  studied  in  Japan  and  abroad. 

The  number  of  students  in  these  military  schools  is 
now  seven  thousand,  a number  that  is  to  be  gradually  in- 
creased to  almost  double  in  1912,  when  it  is  expected 
that  the  annual  output  will  be  2,000  graduates,  which 
will  be  the  number  needed  to  provide  officers  for  the  new 
army. 

For  special  services,  such  as  engineers,  telegraph,  medi- 
cal corps  and  supply  corps,  there  are  in  addition  twenty- 
one  schools. 

About  seven  hundred  Chinese  are  now  in  the  military 
schools  of  Japan,  a number  which  is  now  to  be  reduced 
to  fifty  each  year.  There  are  about  fifteen  in  Europe  and 
two  graduated  at  the  Military  Academy  at  West  Point  a 
year  ago. 

The  school  is  also  one  of  the  most  important  parts  of 
the  soldier’s  life.  In  addition  to  his  four  hours’  drill  per 
day,  he  is  required  to  spend  two  hours  at  school.  The 
schools  themselves  have  broken  away  from  Chinese 
precedent  and  tradition  of  thousands  of  years.  Western 
learning  is  taught  and  Western  methods  are  used.  In- 
stead of  the  classics  we  find  them  studying  writing, 
arithmetic,  history,  physiology,  geography,  and  hygiene. 
A .special  importance  is  given  to  cultivating  ideas  of 
patriotism  and  honor. 

Each  year  a portion  of  the  troops  are  concentrated  for 
maneuvers.  At  first  the  maneuvers  were  marked  by  the 


THE  CHINESE  ARMY  183 

presence  of  a number  of  Japanese  advisers;  they  have 
now  disappeared. 

When  a new  brigade  is  formed  it  is  to  be  remembered 
that  much  money  must  be  expended  and  much  planning 
done.  Large  barracks  and  storehouses  must  be  built 
for  the  thousands  of  men  and  the  arms,  clothing  and 
equipment.  Well-instructed  officers  and  non-commis- 
sioned officers  must  be  ready  to  proceed  without  delay 
to  the  instruction  and  discipline  of  the  new  levies. 

Mdien  a new  division  is  formed,  therefore,  a number 
of  officers  taken  from  the  previously  raised  commands 
are  sent  to  the  new  district.  They  take  charge  of  the 
necessary  preliminary  arrangements  for  enlisting, 
housing,  clothing  and  equipping  the  men.  They  then 
form  one  or  more  school  battalions  as  a nucleus.  After  a 
year  of  hard  work  the  members  of  these  corps  are  able 
to  act  as  non-commissioned  officers  in  the  instruction  of 
the  balance  of  the  brigade  which  is  then  formed. 

The  Chinese  troops  in  Manchuria  have  been  borrowed 
from  other  provinces.  The  idea  is  to  replace  them  by 
new  organizations  at  home  and  to  form  permanent  di- 
visions in  Manchuria.  One  division  is  kept  in  Kirin 
province,  where  the  Russians  also  have  a dual  posses- 
sion. Another  division  is  in  the  vicinty  of  Mukden, 
where  the  Japanese  have  also  possession. 

The  Japanese  have  in  Manchuria,  including  Port  Ar- 
thur and  the  Kuantung  peninsula,  an  entire  division  of 
troops  and  six  companies  of  railway  guards.  This  is 
under  the  provisions  of  the  Portsmouth  Treaty,  permit- 
ting a guard  of  fifteen  men  for  each  kilometer  of  the  rail- 
way. This  dual  occupation  presents  many  anomalous 
conditions. 

So  far  the  Japanese  appear  to  confine  themselves  quite 
carefully  to  the  railroad,  and  the  Chinese  troops  seem 
to  have  considerable  occupation  outside  in  hunting  the 


184 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


bands  of  “ hunghutse,”  or  robbers,  who  have  always  in- 
fested the  country.  It  is  probably  impossible  that  the 
arrangement  will  be  satisfactory  to  either  party.  It  can- 
not last  many  years  longer,  but  the  result  is  dfficult  to 
foretell. 

Since  the  annihilation  of  her  navy  in  the  war  with  Ja- 
pan in  1894,  China  has  done  very  little  in  the  way  of 
replacing  it.  Beyond  a number  of  small  ships  which  are 
employed  mostly  as  river  police  there  is  no  navy. 

Coincident  with  the  raising  of  the  army  is  the  expan- 
sion of  the  railway  system.  Probably  in  a short  time  a 
railway  will  be  completed  from  Hong  Kong  to  Mukden, 
by  way  of  Canton,  Hankow,  Peking,  Tientsin.  Such  a 
system  with  the  other  roads  now  existing  and  the  great 
river  lines  will  bring  fourteen  out  of  the  eighteen  prov- 
inces within  easy  reach  of  one  another,  and  will  solidify 
the  offensive  or  defensive  power  of  the  Empire. 

Upon  the  question  of  the  efficiency  of  this  new  Chi- 
nese army  widely  different  opinions  prevail.  A general 
line  of  pessimism  runs  through  the  accounts  of  most  of 
the  observers  who  have  written  about  it.  Some  say  that 
this  army  which  has  now  been  raised  is  no  better  than 
that  which  opposed  the  Japanese  in  1894  and  the  allies 
in  the  advance  on  Peking  in  1900  at  the  time  of  the  Boxer 
outbreak.  It  is  declared  that  the  generals  are  incompe- 
tent, that  the  junior  officers  have  no  initiative,  the  troops 
no  enthusiasm,  and  that  it  will  be  utterly  impossible  to  pro- 
cure the  money  necessary  to  complete  the  arrangements 
now  in  view. 

There  is  good  ground  for  all  of  this  criticism.  The 
army  seems  to  lack  a strong  directing  head.  We  do  not 
see  the  influence  of  a Meckel  or  a Von  der  Goltz,  which 
so  strongly  marked  the  beginnings  of  the  Japanese  and 
Turkish  armies.  The  chief  of  the  army  is  said  to  be  a 
man  without  military  training.  The  development  of  the 


THE  CHINESE  ARMY 


185 


army  since  1906  has  fallen  far  short  of  what  was  accom- 
plished by  Yuan  Shih  Kai  before  that.  The  absence  of  a 
national  budget  makes  it  necessary  to  turn  over  the  sup- 
port of  the  divisions  to  the  ^'iceroys  of  the  provinces  in 
which  they  are  raised.  As  there  are  many  provinces  and 
many  Viceroys,  there  is  a great  variety  in  methods  and 
efficiency. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  critics  seem  too  eager  to  meas- 
ure the  Chinese  army  by  the  high  standard  of  Europe 
and  Japan.  They  do  not  give  sufficient  credit  to  the  fact 
that  this  national  movement  is  in  its  infancy.  They  for- 
get that  the  creation  of  an  army  out  of  nothing  has  al- 
ways taken  years  of  patient  endeavor. 

I have  pointed  out  briefly  what  has  been  accomplished 
and  what  is  hoped  for  in  the  future.  The  army  may  not 
be  armed  with  weapons  of  the  best  model,  but  it  has 
several  hundred  thousand  rifles  and  seven  or  eight  hun- 
dred guns  which  are  not  to  be  despised  and  which  have 
stood  the  test  of  great  wars.  We  see  the  temples  of 
Buddha  turned  into  public  schools  in  a nation  which  for 
centuries  has  lived  only  on  tradition  and  which  has  stead- 
ily refused  to  believe  that  it  w^as  possible  to  learn  any- 
thing new.  In  this  introduction  of  Western  thought  and 
learning  the  army  is  perhaps  the  greatest  factor.  Thou- 
sands of  young  men  are  studying  to  be  officers.  The 
battalion  schools  of  the  army  of  200,000  men  are  spend- 
ing two  hours  of  study  to  six  of  drill.  The  military  pro- 
fession is  now  honored  where  formerly  it  was  despised ; 
it  is  realized  that  it  can  only  be  learned  by  building  a 
new  educational  system  upon  the  ruins  of  the  old;  it  is 
sought  by  the  most  favored  youth  of  the  land.  The 
psychological  condition  of  the  masses  seems  to  be  chang- 
ing ; a feeling  of  patriotism  and  pride  is  taking  the  place 
of  indifference. 

Whatever  shortcomings  we  may  find  in  this  Chinese 


i86  CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 

army,  we  cannot  forget  that  in  many  respects  it  is  ideal. 
The  Chinese  soldier  has  few  needs,  is  obedient  and  is  a 
fatalist  by  nature.  His  daily  life  would  be  a trial  and  a 
hardship  to  almost  any  other  soldier.  He  subsists  on  lit- 
tle, travels  long  distances,  and  seems  to  be  immune  to 
those  common  diseases  which  have  destroyed  many 
armies.  Moreover,  it  is  no  small  accomplishment  to  have 
worked  out  a military  organization  for  an  army  suited 
to  national  needs  and  capable  of  indefinite  expansion ; to 
accompany  it  with  drill  books  and  regulations  which 
follow  approved  ideas. 

Conclusion 

In  1906,  just  before  the  present  military  scheme  w'as 
adopted,  Tieh  Liang  memorialized  the  Throne,  and  he 
quoted  from  some  long-forgotten  Chinese  classic  in 
these  words : “ Though  all  under  Heaven  is  at  peace, 
if  the  art  of  war  be  forgotten  there  is  peril.”  It  looks 
as  if  these  words  had  now  sunk  deep  into  the  heart  of  the 
whole  nation. 


XI 


CONDITIONS,  FAVORABLE  AND  OTHERWISE, 
IN  CHINA’S  DEVELOPMENT 

There  has  been  a disposition  on  the  part  of  writers 
and  speakers  in  dealing  with  the  Oriental  to  resort  to 
what  might  be  called  literary  demagogy.  At  the  present 
time,  with  a keen  interest  in  all  that  pertains  to  an  awak- 
ening country,  American  audiences  and  readers  demand 
an  all-romance  Chinaman,  and  even  missionaries  and 
consuls,  normally  a truthful  and  judicious  folk,  have 
yielded  to  the  temptation.  The  result  is  a country  burst- 
ing with  good  things  and  especially  a people  faultlessly 
dressed  in  silk  gowns,  who  never  fail  to  provide  for  their 
aged  parents  “ in  the  village,”  a people  who  divide  their 
time  between  telling  the  truth  to  their  own  hurt  and 
making  pretty  lacquer  boxes  to  give  to  friends,  prefer- 
ably Americans,  with  no  thought  of  a return  gift  next 
“ Chinee  New  Year’s.”  It  is  a useful  antidote  to  this 
pleasing  picture — though  it  reflects  most  creditably  on 
our  human  nature — to  recall  the  “ hurry  calls  ” from 
foreigners  in  the  interior  on  the  consul  for  a gunboat, 
when  our  fellows  of  the  Middle  Kingdom  are  restless. 
At  such  a time  we  realize  that  perfection  does  not  yet 
dwell  among  men ; and  incidentally  we  discover  that  the 
Chinese  have  qualities  unrevealed  on  the  Chautauqua 
circuit  and  omitted  in  the  latest  “ big  sellers  ” of  the  book 
market. 

The  Chinese  are  an  admirable  people  and  can  teach  us 
some  things,  notably  the  simple,  non-competitive  life, 
but  we  will  not  too  soon  surrender  the  institutions,  at- 

187 


i88  CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 

tainments  and  viewpoints  of  Anglo-Saxon  civilization. 
The  Chinese  Empire  is  old  and  its  400,000,000  live  in 
comparative  peace,  but  the  question  is.  What  have  they 
done  with  their  time?  for  mere  age  is  little.  They  are 
credited  with  revealing  gun-powder,  the  compass  and 
other  discoveries,  but  the  nations  of  earth  do  not  go  to 
China  to  buy  these  things — they  are  there  not  very  well 
made.  Perhaps  the  modern  test  of  a civilization  would 
be  what  it  does,  not  for  individuals,  but  for  the  rank  and 
file  of  its  people ; and  China  does  not  do  much  for  them. 
It  has  not  brought  out  the  powers  of  the  individual.  Not 
one  in  ten  can  read  and  write — the  proportion  is  likely 
much  smaller.  The  people  are  not  well  nourished ; great 
numbers  live  on  the  margin  of  famine.  As  one  sees  an 
army  of  coolies  at  work,  he  feels  that  among  them  are 
potential  artists  and  painters,  inventors,  captains  of  in- 
dustry, intellectual  and  spiritual  leaders — men  who,  if 
their  powers  were  unlocked,  might  confer  benefits,  not 
only  on  their  own  people  but  on  humanity  ; but  Confucian- 
ism and  the  other  factors  in  Chinese  civilization  have  not 
furnished  the  dynamics.  Neither  are  their  material  re- 
sources developed ; China  is  almost  exclusively  an  agri- 
cultural country,  though  it  is  rich  in  mines  and  has  the 
raw  material,  the  labor  and  the  markets,  that,  energetically 
exploited,  might  dot  the  Empire  with  centers  of  manu- 
facture and  production.  It  is  significant  of  the  wealth  of 
the  country  that  by  agriculture  alone  is  supported  a 
population  five  times  our  own  on  an  area  equal  to  the 
United  States  east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains. 

It  is  unlikely  American  friends  of  China  realize  the 
poverty  of  the  Chinese  people.  There  is  wealth  in  the 
coast  ports ; and  in  the  eighty  or  ninety  walled  towns  of 
each  of  the  eighteen  provinces  one  sees  in  the  stocks  of 
goods  in  the  stores  and  in  the  dress  of  the  people  some 
evidences  of  prosperity ; but  the  mass  of  the  people  have 


CHINA’S  DEVELOPMENT 


189 


only  the  bare  necessities,  and  a walk  from  village  to  vil- 
lage reveals  an  unprogressiveness,  a pinching  poverty 
that  depresses  one — for  though  the  needs  of  the  Chinese 
are  small,  they  yet  find  it  difficult  to  earn  enough  to 
secure  the  essentials  of  life.  Twenty  cash  are  equal  to 
a cent ; eleven  of  these  cash  will  buy  a bowl  of  rice.  But 
often  the  two  or  three  cents  a day  are  hard  to  get. 

One  does  not  realize  the  far-reaching  usefulness  of  the 
“ right  of  property  ” as  a civilizing  force  until  he  lives  in 
a country  where  property  must  hide  its  head.  Where  a 
man  is  protected  in  his  invention,  in  cooperative  industry, 
in  getting  rich — under  such  auspices  men  are  free  to  do 
things  industrial ; capital  gathers,  resources  are  devel- 
oped ; all  the  blessings  of  material  prosperity  follow.  But 
in  a land  where  the  man  with  a dollar  is  a marked  man — 
where  the  resident  in  a handsome  home  is  subject  to  a 
compulsive  demand  to  build  a bridge  or  loan  to  the  magi- 
strate, or  perhaps  to  a visit  of  bandits  by  night,  with  no 
efficient  police  to  protect  the  citizen — the  forward  move- 
ment is  checked.  It  is  not  worth  while  to  amass  wealth 
if  one  may  not  enjoy  it  or  to  establish  a factory  when  it 
merely  becomes  a target  for  interference  and  exaction. 
The  coast  ports  of  China  have  many  wealthy  Chinese; 
they  load  their  women  with  diamonds  and  own  many  of 
Shanghai’s  two  hundred  and  fifty  automobiles.  These 
Chinese  are  frank  to  say  they  live  in  Singapore, 
Hong  Kong,  Shanghai,  Tientsin  because  of  foreign  aus- 
pices and  protection.  They  would  prefer  to  live  on  the 
soil  of  their  birth.  So  the  first  need  of  China  is  some 
material  prosperity.  No  man  can  do  much  until  his 
stomach  is  full ; until  he  has  a dollar  in  his  pocket.  But 
there  can  be  no  material  prosperity  until  propert}'^  is  pro- 
tected— and  this  calls  for  more  efficient  government.  I 
traveled  a thousand  miles  in  the  interior,  but  saw  only 
one  or  two  smoke-stacks ; no  signs  of  cooperative,  am- 


190  CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 

bitious  industry ; no  manufacturing,  little  mining — agri- 
culture almost  exclusively.  One  can  think  of  scarcely  a 
large  producing  concern  in  China  that  is  not  shared  in 
by  officials ; and  those  on  a pure  citizen  dividend  basis 
are  not  unhampered  as  are  the  shoe  factories,  knitting 
mills  and  power  plants  of  the  United  States,  England  and 
Germany. 

Until  the  wars  of  1840  and  i860  the  Chinese  really 
believed  their  country  was  the  dominant  kingdom  of 
earth  in  point  of  arms ; indeed  this  idea  lingered,  as 
shown  by  the  purpose  in  the  Boxer  uprising,  to  expel 
once  and  for  all  the  foreigners.  At  last,  however,  the 
Chinese  know  they  are  weak  in  comparison  with  the 
powers  of  the  earth.  But  this  is  weakness  only  in  the  de- 
partment of  armaments;  it  would  not  occur  to  any  Chi- 
nese to  envy  the  civilization  of  the  foreigner.  The  ad- 
vanced ones  see  and  recommend  to  their  fellows  some  of 
our  inventions  and  institutions ; they  lament  the  unpro- 
gressiveness  of  their  Empire.  But  no  Chinese  apologizes 
for  being  Chinese.  He  is  rich  in  native  dignity,  in  race 
pride.  It  is  in  national  pride  that  he  is  defective.  He  has 
local,  family  pride;  sometimes  villages  war  with  each 
other  over  some  clan  insult  until  the  fields  are  dotted 
with  dead,  slain  with  blunderbusses  charged  with  nails 
and  stones,  or  killed  with  mattocks  and  crude  field  im- 
plements. The  Chinese  is  willing  to  die  for  a cause  that 
appeals  to  him.  But  to  organize  and  march  to  die  for  the 
Empire — even  to  get  interested  and  excited — is  not  in 
him,  at  least  it  has  not  been  until  of  late.  Love  of  the 
Empire  is  not  a concept  that  is  real.  Clan,  neighborhood, 
dialect,  to  an  extent  religion — these  are  live  things  to 
him,  but  the  average  peasant  has  no  national  appreciation, 
enthusiasm  or  purpose.  Indeed,  the  next  province  and  its 
people  may  be  as  uncongenial  to  him  as  at  times  is  the 
foreigner — may  be  more  so.  The  hostility  between  re- 


CHINA’S  DEVELOPMENT  19^ 

gions  is  often  veteran  and  deep.  When  I took  my  per- 
sonal attendant  on  a trip  up  the  China  coast,  I was  cared 
for  by  American  consuls,  but  my  “ boy,”  turned  over  to 
tlie  kitchens,  nearly  starved ; he  did  not  speak  their 
tongues,  he  was  a barbarian  among  his  own  people.  The 
country  of  China  is  so  big,  the  people  are  so  varied  in 
language  and  traditions,  and  so  unacquainted ; they  have 
so  little  to  do  with  the  Imperial  authorities,  they  feel  so 
little  gratitude  to  the  Government,  a gulf  separating 
official  and  citizen,  that  there  is  but  the  beginning  of  a 
real  patriotic  love  of  the  country  as  a whole.  It  is  for  this 
reason  that  it  has  been  said  a well-equipped  invading 
force  of  40,000  men  could  march  from  one  end  of  the 
Empire  to  another.  There  is  a modern  army  forming 
of  Chinese,  and  their  efficiency  will  increase  with  organ- 
ization and  a developed  patriotism ; but  for  thrills  over 
the  Dragon  flag  or  under  the  strains  of  the  national  air 
— (and  there  is  a Chinese  national  air  arranged  in  our 
own  musical  code) — for  a willingness  to  sacrifice  and 
lose,  one  must  look  to  the  student  class,  the  Chinese  ed- 
ucated in  Japan  or  abroad,  or  in  the  colleges  under  for- 
eign auspices  in  China,  where  in  the  beauty  and  loftiness 
of  youth  they  have  learned  of  well-ordered  states,  of  ef- 
ficiency and  integrity  of  administration,  of  public  moneys 
scrupulously  administered,  of  health  and  fortune  and  fu- 
ture gladly  laid  on  the  altar  of  public  service.  Do  not  mis- 
understand me — unselfishness  and  self-sacrifice  were  at 
work  in  China  before  modern  states  emerged  from  bar- 
barism, but  they  operated  in  personal,  family  and  local 
relationships.  The  concept  of  the  nation  as  something 
majestic,  embodying  the  hopes  and  fears  of  all  the  people, 
as  something  beautiful  in  its  ends  and  perfect  in  its  ef- 
ficiency and  terrible  in  its  splendid  wrath — this  concept 
is  new  to  a people  for  whom  Government  has  done  so 
little  that  is  constructive — a Government  to  which  the 


192 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


Chinese  appeal  only  as  a last  resort,  preferring  the  crude 
and  inadequate  administration  by  a handful  of  one’s 
neighbors  to  the  uncertainties  of  a visit  to  the  yamen. 

Again,  the  conservatism  of  the  people  is  only  partly 
broken.  We  speak  of  “ an  awakening  China,”  and  rightly 
so.  It  is  true  that  the  development  in  the  last  decade  is 
epochal.  But  Americans  are  not  to  think  of  an  eager 
China,  as  Japan  was  and  is  eager  to  get  the  best  things 
of  modern  life.  That  contingent  in  every  Chinese  com- 
munity which  has  come  under  the  influence  of  outside 
impulses,  educational,  commercial  or  religious,  is  ready 
and  usually  eager  for  betterments,  and  when  leadership 
is  once  set  up  among  any  people,  the  mass  follows ; but 
the  bulk  of  China — the  hundreds  of  millions  away  from 
the  coast  and  treaty  ports — are  going  on  in  much  the 
same  old  way.  Great  numbers  of  them  never  saw  a 
white  man,  and  beyond  an  occasional  hint  of  changes  in 
the  posted  Edict  or  local  manifesto  do  not  know  that 
anything  is  happening. 

The  strange  idea  prevalent  among  many  of  our  people 
that  Japanese  and  Chinese  civilization  walk  with  equal 
step  is  absurd.  Japan  is  not  much  different  from  our 
own  country  in  the  equipment  of  communities ; the  peo- 
ple all  speak  the  same  language ; they  have  efficient 
schools,  sanitation.  Western  trained  medical  practitioners, 
a town  hall,  a municipal  budget,  roads  and  comfortable 
inns  in  the  most  remote  districts.  But  in  China  all  is  crude 
as  yet;  save  in  rehabilitated  Peking  and  other  bright 
spots  governmental  efficiency  is  feeble ; decentralization  is 
the  rule.  The  Chinese  have  worked  out  an  admirable 
system  of  self-rule,  but  the  criticism  of  it  that  it  does  not 
make  for  progress  is  undeniable.  It  leaves  the  people 
industrious  and  peaceable,  but  also  poor,  ignorant,  un- 
ambitious. The  absence  of  clear,  conceded  authority  at 
Peking  is  another  condition  that  makes  regeneration 


CHINA’S  DEVELOPMENT 


193 


difficult.  The  outside  world  knows  certain  Manchus 
and  Chinese  of  rank  and  rejoices  in  those  who  would 
face  China  on  the  new  path,  but  back  of  them  are  of- 
ficials of  greater  authority,  in  some  cases  unfamiliar  to 
the  onlookers ; and  these  love  the  old  order.  There  are 
many  to  consult  in  Peking.  Japan  had  this  advantage, 
that  the  Government  was  strong  and  authoritative ; the 
nation  was  unified  and  schooled  to  follow  implicitly  un- 
der the  daimio  system.  The  regeneration  of  China  can- 
not be  automatic  as  was  that  of  Japan,  for  the  provinces 
and  communities  have  been  largely  self-governing.  It 
will  be  rapid  enough  to  gladden  those  who  love  their  fel- 
low men,  but  it  must  be  slow.  For  one  thing  there  are 
ten  times  as  many  people  to  be  moved. 

The  docile  spirit  of  the  Japanese  is  lacking  in  the 
Chinese.  The  former  emptied  themselves  that  they  might 
learn,  though  in  it  was  nothing  of  abjectness.  It  was 
rather  a self-controlled  pride  for  the  time  being.  The 
Anglo-Saxon  had  the  knowledge.  We  could  teach  the 
Japanese  how  to  build  bridges  and  refine  sugar  and  heal 
the  sick  and  establish  courts  and  install  banks,  railroads 
and  steamship  lines,  so  the  Japanese  took  all  we  offered 
with  eagerness  until  they  attained  a proficiency  much 
like  our  own.  On  a recent  walk  in  Japan  my  days  were 
made  a burden  by  the  passion  of  my  Japanese  compan- 
ion to  learn  English ; he  would  not  let  me  alone.  This 
eagerness  characterized  the  whole  nation  from  throne 
to  ricksha.  It  is  duplicated  in  China  only  in  spots,  and 
then  often  in  the  form  rather  than  in  the  substance.  A 
few  months’  study  in  Japan  is  regarded  as  sufficient  to 
equip  a Chinese  teacher  in  Western  learning.  Foreign- 
ers were  imported  to  build  railroads;  when  the  latter 
proved  profitable,  the  Chinese  assumed  they  could  do 
the  work,  and  there  are  some  faulty  roadbeds  to  show 
for  their  premature  action.  This  unwillingness  to  put 


194 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


themselves  in  the  attitude  of  learners  is  likely  a reflection 
of  the  traditional  conceit  of  the  people. 

I have  spoken  with  frankness  of  the  conditions  that 
block  progress  in  China.  Let  us  touch  briefly  on  some  of 
the  facts  and  conditions  that  suggest  what  a good  me- 
dium for  improvement  this  remarkable  people  constitute. 
In  the  first  place  there  is  nothing  decadent  about  the  Chi- 
nese, absolutely  nothing.  There  are  countries  across  the 
Atlantic  that  depress  one,  for  decay  and  degeneracy  are 
obvious,  but  the  Chinese  are  full  of  power,  of  capacity. 
They  give  the  impression,  whether  official,  merchant, 
student  or  coolie,  of  a people  that  could  do  anything — 
not  merely  industrially,  but  intellectually.  It  has  been 
proved  that  one  may  take  children  from  the  streets,  from 
the  boat  population,  from  the  dirty  and  diseased  villages, 
and  with  education  and  sympathy  make  men  of  power. 
They  are  physically  strong,  virile,  forceful.  As  four 
chair-bearers,  perspiring,  panting,  yet  exulting  in  their 
humble  task — with  no  vision  of  higher  employment — 
as  they  bear  their  white  burden  home  from  the  club 
luxuriously  asleep,  up  steep  inclines  at  better  than  four 
miles  an  hour,  one  has  an  uncomfortable  feeling  that  all 
their  labor  may  mean  storage  of  power  against  some  day 
when  the  law  of  compensation  shall  reverse  conditions. 
The  Chinese  are  happily  free  from  caste ; they  are  the 
most  democratic  of  people.  The  millionaire  contractor 
and  his  retainers  may  eat  from  the  same  rice  bowl  and 
the  humblest  worker  in  the  street  may  ask  his  way  from 
the  magnate.  It  is  only  in  officialdom  that  barriers  are 
put  up.  The  Chinese  are  a responsive  people ; their  hu- 
mor is  more  marked  than  is  that  of  the  Japanese.  The 
American  has  an  advantage  in  dealing  with  the  Chi- 
nese by  reason  of  the  former’s  hearty  ways ; the  two 
peoples  understand  each  other.  While  learning  is  not  as 
common  as  our  home  people  infer,  to  be  wise  is  the  thing 


CHINA’S  DEVELOPMENT 


195 


desired  by  the  Chinese,  and  the  scholar  is  the  envied  one 
and  honored  by  all  classes.  The  only  aristocracy  in  China 
is  that  of  learning,  and  the  poorest  may  enter  the  door. 
Indu.stry  is  so  universal  a trait  that  only  the  opium  sot  is 
lazy,  and  he  is  despised ; and  contact  with  the  foreigner 
explains  insolence  when  it  rarely  occurs.  The  Chinese 
are  free  from  alcohol  poisoning.  It  makes  one  thought- 
ful to  see  coolies  carry  burdens  of  from  one  hundred  to 
three  hundred  pounds  hour  after  hour  with  no  thought 
of  more  than  weak  tea  to  stimulate  them ; and  when  a 
crowd  of  natives  follows  a drunken  foreign  sailor  sway- 
ing to  and  fro  in  his  ricksha,  it  would  be  less  embarras- 
sing for  us  if  they  would  laugh ; but  their  faces  rather 
betray  marvel  and  inquiry.  The  Chinese  are  not  a vin- 
dictive people,  but  friendly.  Their  religions  sit  easily 
on  them,  so  there  are  no  barriers  to  enlightenment  on 
that  score.  In  normal  times  you  may  stand  up  in  any 
city  and  have  your  say ; they  do  not  fear  the  undermin- 
ing of  cherished  beliefs.  It  is  a land  of  free  speech  ex- 
cept as  the  Government  may  have  a local  issue  to  deal 
with.  The  Chinese  use  reason  instead  of  violence  in  the 
main;  they  meet  over  a feast  to  adjust  differences,  and 
there  are  professional  peace-makers  instead  of  lawyers. 

The  study  of  modern  topics  in  the  schools  under  the 
Edict  of  1905  in  place  of  an  exclusively  classical  curric- 
ulum, and  the  introduction  of  railways — these,  with  the 
leaven  of  Christian  missions,  constitute  the  major  definite 
forces  for  a regenerated  China.  One  can  point  out  a 
variety  of  needs:  I have  spoken  of  the  necessity  of  pro- 
tection of  property  and  of  the  growth  of  a true  patriot- 
ism. One  might  add  to  the  list,  and  say  an  incorruptible 
judiciary.  But  how  shall  a country  improve  her  judges 
by  a proclamation?  A judiciary  that  commands  the  re- 
spect of  all  the  people  is  one  of  the  finest  and  one  of  the 
last  fruits  of  perfected  civilization.  There  cannot  be  a 


196  CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 

purer  judiciary  in  China  until  there  is  a better  China- 
man. However,  it  is  cheering  to  reflect  that  twenty 
years  ago  foreigners  in  Japan  scoffed  at  the  proposal  to 
entrust  their  lives  and  property  to  the  courts  of  Japan, 
yet  this  has  come  about  with  only  occasional  complaints. 
It  must  be  a longer  time  before  Chinese  ideas  can  be 
conformed  to  our  views  of  disinterested  justice  and  to 
Western  legal  principles ; yet  if  China  will  throw  a gen- 
eral enthusiasm  into  a movement  for  regeneration  in  place 
of  the  present  partial  trend,  one  may  well  hesitate  to 
place  limits  on  the  achievements  of  such  a people. 


XII 


THE  CHINESE  STUDENT  IN  AMERICA 

We  hear  much  in  these  days  of  the  “ awakening  of 
China.”  The  phrase  means,  as  I understand  it,  no  more 
than  this:  A growing  and  spreading  recognition  by  the 
Chinese  of  the  fact  that  they  must  learn  and  adopt,  to  a 
much  greater  extent  than  hitherto,  the  ways  and  methods 
of  modern  civilization,  must  acquaint  themselves  with  the 
progress  and  continuous  advance  made  by  thinkers,  stu- 
dents and  inventors  of  the  Western  World,  in  the  fields 
of  political  and  social  economy,  practical  science  and 
the  industrial  arts ; and  must  learn  to  apply  the  knowl- 
edge thus  acquired  to  the  reforming  and  strengthen- 
ing of  their  own  Government,  the  improvement  of 
the  material  welfare  of  their  people  and  the  develop- 
ment of  their  country’s  resources.  Not  all  the  advocates 
in  China  of  the  adoption  of  the  ways  of  modern  civiliz- 
ation are  such  from  a conviction  of  the  intrinsic  superi- 
ority of  the  new  ways  over  the  old : many  there  are  who 
would,  if  they  could,  keep  their  country  in  its  ancient  and 
traditional  isolation,  or  rather  in  the  self-centered  ex- 
clusiveness of  a nation  to  which  intercourse  with  the  un- 
important corners  of  the  earth  lying  outside  its  bound- 
aries, is  neither  necessary  nor  desirable : and  to  which  its 
own  ways  and  beliefs  are  all  sufficient,  and  better  than 
anything  which  the  outside  world  can  give.  There  are 
many,  I say,  who  honestly  believe  that  their  country  was 
better  off,  and  would  continue  to  be  better  off.  without  the 
foreigner,  but  who  yet  advocate  the  acquirement  of 
M’estern  knowledge  and  the  adoption  of  Western  meth- 

197 


ig8 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


ods,  because  they  see  that  since  the  foreigner  cannot  be 
got  rid  of ; since  intercourse  with  the  outside  world  and 
the  residence  of  foreigners  in  China  are  inevitable;  the 
only  way  for  China  to  hold  her  own  against  the  intruder ; 
to  maintain  the  integrity  of  her  Empire  and  the  un- 
hampered exercise  of  sovereign  rights  by  her  Govern- 
ment, is  by  acquainting  herself  with  the  principles  and 
methods  which  are  the  source  of  the  foreigner’s  supe- 
rior strength — by  stealing  his  thunder  and  turning 
against  him  his  own  weapons.  These  would  fain  have 
China  left  alone  in  the  peaceful  enjo)'ment  of  her  old 
ways ; but  since  that  cannot  be,  they  advocate  the  learn- 
ing and  adoption  of  the  foreigner’s  ways  in  order  that 
China  may  be  able  to  hold  her  own  in  the  inevitable 
intercourse  and  competition  with  him. 

There  is  another  party  which  favors  the  adoption  by 
China  of  Western  methods  from  a conviction  of  the  su- 
periority of  these  methods,  and  of  China’s  need  of  them 
for  the  actual  good  they  will  bring  to  the  Government 
and  the  people.  They  believe  in  the  ways  of  modern 
civilization  and  in  the  benefits  which  follow  free  inter- 
course with  other  countries.  They  would  not  revert  to 
the  old  aloofness,  but  would  have  China  take  her  place 
in  the  councils  of  the  nations,  on  even  terms  with  the 
countries  of  the  West. 

Which  of  these  two  kinds  of  advocates  of  modern 
progess  in  China  are  the  more  numerous  I am  not  pre- 
pared to  say.  It  is  enough  to  say  here  that  both  wings  of 
the  Progressives,  if  we  may  call  them  so,  are  rapidly 
increasing  in  numbers,  and  that  they  are  the  dominating 
factor  in  the  existing  Government.  However  different 
the  underlying  motives  of  the  members  of  the  two  wings 
may  be,  they  are  united  in  their  advocacy  of  the  learning 
and  adoption  of  the  ways  of  modern  civilization;  and,  to 
a great  extent,  in  their  ideas  as  to  the  steps  to  be  taken 


CHINESE  STUDENTS  IN  AMERICA  199 


and  the  means  to  be  employed  to  accomplisli  this  end.  On 
one  point  in  particular  there  is  unanimity  of  opinion  be- 
tween the  two  factions  of  the  Progressives,  that  is  in  the 
conviction  that  the  Chinese  official  of  the  present  day 
needs  an  equipment  for  his  position  quite  different  from 
that  based  on  the  standard  set  by  an  examination  in 
knowledge  of  the  Chinese  classics.  As  a result  of  this 
conviction,  we  have  seen  the  old  form  of  examination  for 
public  office  quietly,  though  suddenly,  superseded  by  a 
test  which  requires  of  the  candidates  some  knowledge  of 
what  has  been  done,  and  discovered,  and  accomplished, 
and  what  is  now  going  on,  in  the  larger  world.  This  im- 
portant change  in  the  nature  of  the  examinations  for  the 
civil  service  naturally  led  to  an  immediate  change  in  the 
methods  and  curriculum  of  preparatory  schools ; and  to 
the  establishment  of  schools  of  a new  kind  as  fast  as 
teachers,  with  even  a smattering  of  Western  knowledge, 
could  be  found  to  instruct  the  Chinese  youth  in  the  sub- 
jects a knowledge  of  wffiich  is  required  by  the  new  stand- 
ard of  examination.  The  few'  good  schools  already  in 
existence,  w'hether  established  by  the  Government,  by 
private  individuals,  or  under  the  auspices  of  the  foreign 
missionary  societies,  were  eagerly  sought  by  ambitious 
pupils,  and  soon  proved  inadequate  to  meet  the  demands. 
The  necessity  for  more  schools,  and  more  and  better 
teachers,  under  purely  Chinese  management  and  control, 
became  everywhere  apparent,  and  it  was  the  provision  of 
teachers  for  such  schools,  as  well  as  the  equipment  of 
selected  young  men  for  positions  of  usefulness  in  various 
departments  of  the  Government  during  the  early  stages 
of  the  introduction  of  changes,  reforms  and  improve- 
ments, that  led  so  naturally  and  logically  to  the  policy 
of  sending  students  to  Western  countries  to  study  under 
the  best  teachers,  the  principles  and  products  of  Western 
civilization.  Many  of  the  students  thus  sent  abroad  have 


200 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


been  sent  at  the  expense  of  one  or  other  of  the  Provincial 
Governments ; while  others  have  been  sent,  and  are  sup- 
ported by  parents  or  relatives,  or  have  come  at  their  own 
expense.  England,  France  and  Germany  have  been  the 
chosen  destinations  of  many  of  these  students ; but  a 
greater  number  have  come  to  America  to  seek  education  ; 
and  this  number  promises  soon  to  be  very  substantially  in- 
creased by  the  sending  hither  by  the  Imperial  Govern- 
ment of  one  hundred  students  every  year  for  the  next 
four  years,  and  a minimum  of  fifty  students  each  year 
thereafter  up  to  the  year  1940 — the  students  thus  sent  to 
be  supported  out  of  the  portion  of  the  Boxer  indemnity 
returned  annually  by  the  United  States  Government  to 
China. 

There  are  now  in  the  United  States,  east  of  the 
Missouri  River,  about  two  hundred  and  seventy-five 
Chinese  students  (including  with  these  twenty  women), 
while  on  the  Pacific  Coast,  in  universities  and  col- 
leges, there  are  about  one  hundred  and.  twenty  more. 
Those  in  the  Eastern  States  have,  in  almost  every 
case,  come  to  America  especially  for  study;  while 
of  those  on  the  Pacific  Coast  many  are  the  chil- 
dren of  long-time  residents  in  this  country.  The 
two  hundred  and  seventy-five  students  in  the  Eastern 
States  are  distributed  amongst  sixty-two  universities, 
colleges  and  schools,  some  of  which,  however,  have 
only  one  or  two  representatives.  There  were  last  year 
thirty-three  Chinese  students  at  Harvard,  thirty-one  at 
Cornell,  thirty-one  at  the  University  of  Pennsylvania, 
twenty-three  at  Yale,  twenty  at  Columbia,  twelve  at  the 
University  of  Illinois,  and  seven  each  at  the  Massachu- 
setts Institute  of  Technology,  the  Massachusetts  Agri- 
cultural College  and  the  University  of  Chicago.  Some 
are  taking  courses  in  government  and  political  science, 
others  in  chemistry,  metallurgy,  engineering,  law, 


CHINESE  STUDENTS  IN  AMERICA  201 


medicine,  agriculture  and  finance.  With  very  few  ex- 
ceptions they  have  taken  creditable  standing  in  their 
classes ; and  not  a few  have  distinguished  themselves  in 
competition  with  their  American  fellow  students,  in  spite 
of  the  handicap  of  having  to  work  in  a language  not  their 
own.  One  student  received  his  degree  at  Harvard 
niagna  cum  laude,  and  three  students  attained  to  member- 
ship in  the  Phi  Beta  Kappa  at  different  universities  dur- 
ing the  past  year.  There  is  no  lack  of  ability  and  ambition 
on  the  part  of  the  students ; and  there  can  be  no  doubt 
that  China  is  going  to  get  an  ample  return  for  the  ex- 
penditure incurred  in  maintaining  these  young  men  here ; 
but  the  return  will  be  greater  or  less,  according  to  the 
wisdom  and  foresight  exercised  in  choosing  subjects  and 
courses  of  study,  and  to  the  degree  in  which  opportuni- 
ties for  close  observation  outside  the  academic  curriculum 
are  availed  of  by  the  students. 

During  a long  residence  in  China  in  the  service  of  the 
Chinese  Government,  I have  had  some  opportunity  to 
observe,  and  to  form  opinions,  as  to  what  are  the  most 
pressing  wants  and  defects  in  China,  and  how  far  study 
and  observation  in  America,  and  in  European  countries, 
can  give  students  the  equipment  they  need  to  enable  them 
to  go  back  to  their  own  country  and  render  efficient  aid  in 
supplying  those  wants  and  remedying  those  defects.  May 
I be  allowed,  then,  to  set  forth  what,  in  my  opinion,  are 
some  of  the  principal  objects  to  be  kept  in  view  by  the 
Chinese  students  in  this  country — the  kinds  of  good  work 
for  which  they  ought  to  try  to  fit  themselves  ? 

The  introduction  of  reforms  in  administration  and  of 
improved  methods  furthering  the  material,  moral  and  in- 
tellectual welfare  of  the  Chinese  people  cannot  be  ac- 
complished without  a heavy  expenditure  of  money.  The 
provision  of  funds  is  a necessary  antecedent  of,  and 
therefore  underlies,  the  whole  programme  of  improve- 


202 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


ment.  I do  not  hesitate,  therefore,  to  place  first  in  im- 
portance amongst  China’s  needs — equitable  methods  of 
taxation,  which  shall  be  as  easy  and  convenient  of  appli- 
cation as  possible,  and  productive  of  an  adequate  reve- 
nue— the  collection  of  which  revenue  must  be  under- 
taken by  an  honest,  efficient  and  economical  machinery. 
The  difficulty  of  fixing  upon  methods  of  taxation  is  not 
so  great  as  that  of  replacing  by  a properly  constituted 
and  administered  revenue  service,  the  over-staffed  and 
under-paid  tax  bureau  now  so  generally  existing.  A staff 
far  beyond  the  reasonable  requirements  of  the  work  to 
be  done  is  gathered  around  each  office.  The  official  at  the 
head  of  the  office  has  perhaps  many  needy  relatives  and 
dependents  to  whom  he  gives  a “ chance  ” by  appointing 
them  to  subordinate  positions  with  very  small  salaries, 
or  enrolling  them  amongst  the  runners  and  hangers-on 
with  no  regular  pay  at  all,  but  with  an  opportunity  to 
make  a meager  living  by  irregular  exactions,  made  possi- 
ble by  their  power  to  delay  and  obstruct  the  business  of 
those  who  have  dealings  with  the  office. 

The  principle  of  fixed  fees  for  definite  services,  or 
fixed  duties  on  definite  varieties  and  quantities  of  mer- 
chandise, is  the  only  principle  on  which  business  can  be 
carried  on  with  security  and  satisfaction.  But  unless 
this  principle  is  joined  to  the  principle  of  fixed  and  ade- 
quate salaries  to  Government  servants,  and  a business- 
like adjustment  of  the  size  of  the  staff  to  the  amount  of 
business  to  be  done,  the  former  principle  cannot,  in  prac- 
tice, be  adhered  to.  If  the  staff  were  fixed  at  the  proper 
strength  and  its  members  paid  fair  salaries,  there  would 
be  no  excuse  for,  and  need  be  no  toleration  of  irregular 
exactions;  but  when  from  highest  to  lowest,  the  employes 
are  either  very  inadequately  paid,  or  not  paid  at  all,  re- 
sort is  naturally  had  to  irregular  exactions  for  private 
benefit,  or  to  bargains  and  compromises  through  which 


CHINESE  STUDENTS  IN  AMERICA  203 


some  favor  is  shown  to  merchants,  or  other  persons  con- 
cerned in  the  matter  of  classification  of  goods,  weights 
and  measurement,  or  rates  of  duty  or  taxes,  whereby  the 
merchant  saves  in  the  payment  of  his  legitimate  dues 
about  as  much  as  he  gives  in  fees  to  employes ; so  that 
the  Government  treasury  is  the  only  loser,  and  the  of- 
ficial in  charge,  with  his  staff  and  his  hungry  horde  of 
hangers-on,  is  the  only  one  benefited.  Such  a system 
of  “ squeeze  ” being  countenanced,  and  excused  by  the 
apparent  necessity  arising  from  no  regular  pay  to  the 
staff,  50  long  as  it  does  not  bear  too  heavily  on  the  tax- 
payers there  is  practically  no  limit  to  the  extent  to  which 
it  may  be  carried, — unless  the  Government  receipts  fall 
off  to  such  an  extent  as  to  cause  the  higher  officials  to 
take  strenuous  action  and  resort  to  investigation  and 
wholesale  dismissals,  when  things  become  better  for  a 
time — but  only  to  revert,  by  degrees,  to  the  same  state. 
But  with  fixed  and  adequate  pay,  and  a staff  just  large 
enough  for  the  w'ork  to  be  done,  there  would  be  an  im- 
mediate end  of  this  great  evil ; for  the  Chinese  people 
are  not  more  dishonest  or  grasping  than  other  peoples. 
They  are  content  with  a modest  income  which  will  en- 
able them  to  live  in  moderate  comfort,  and  are  willing 
to  do  a full  day’s  work  for  their  pay,  when  properly  paid. 
In  an  adequate  and  properly  paid  staff  each  member 
would  do  his  owm  work ; there  w'ould  be  no  place  for 
supernumeraries  and  hangers-on,  and  these  would  not  be 
tolerated  by  the  regular  staff.  So,  as  there  would  be  no 
excuse  for  irregular  fees  and  exactions,  there  would  be 
no  toleration  of  bargains  and  compromises  with  tax- 
payers, to  the  loss  of  the  Government  revenue.  The  im- 
mediate dismissal  and  further  punishment  of  employes 
guilty  of  such  irregularities  w'ould  soon  put  a stop  to 
them. 

This  reform  I place  first  amongst  the  needs  of  China. 


204  CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 

We  trust  that  every  student  who  comes  to  this  country, 
will,  on  his  return  to  his  native  land,  do  his  best  to  help 
bring  this  about ; and  let  his  experiences  and  observa- 
tions in  this  country — whether  they  be  of  models  to  be 
copied  or  of  bad  examples  to  be  shunned  in  this  connec- 
tion— be  fully  utilized  in  his  efforts  to  this  end. 

Next  in  importance  to  the  reform  of  the  civil  service 
I am  inclined  to  place  a reform  of  the  currency  and  fi- 
nance. The  existing  confusion  in  this  respect  is  the  cause 
of  immense  loss  not  only  to  the  Government  but  to 
traders,  merchants  and  organized  industries  of  all  kinds. 
With  a different  unit  of  value  in  every  considerable  city, 
and  sometimes  several  such  units  in  use  in  the  same 
place,  not  only  is  there  more  or  less  uncertainty  as  to  the 
amounts  of  debits  and  credits,  but  the  laborious  and  vex- 
atious calculations  of  exchange  necessitate  the  employ- 
ment of  a vast  number  of  expert  accountants  and  clerks, 
consume  an  immense  amount  of  time,  and  seriously 
hamper  trade.  So,  too,  the  clumsy  method  of  settling 
debts  by  weighing  out  silver  ingots  of  various  standards 
of  fineness, — which,  for  lack  of  a trustworthy  and  uni- 
versally acceptable  guarantor,  have  to  be  assayed  for 
quality  as  well  as  weighed  for  quantity, — wastes  time  and 
labor,  causes  immense  expense,  and  leads  to  vexatious 
disputes — so  much  so  as  to  be  a recognized  obstruction 
in  commercial  dealings,  as  well  as  a source  of  serious 
loss  to  the  Government  revenue.  All  these  evils  could 
be  done  away  with  by  the  adoption  of  a national  unit  of 
value  and  a national  coinage,  to  be  used  throughout  the 
Empire  to  the  exclusion  of  all  others.  Whether  the  unit 
of  value  selected  should  be  the  tael  or  the  dollar  is  a mat- 
ter of  less  importance  than  that  there  should  be  one  fixed 
standard  for  the  whole  Empire,  and  that  the  Imperial 
Government  alone  should  mint  the  standard  coins  and  be 
responsible  for  their  weight  and  fineness.  China  is  al- 


CHINESE  STUDENTS  IN  AMERICA  205 


most  the  last  of  the  nations  of  the  world  to  stick  to  a 
silver  standard ; and  having  such  extensive  and  ever- 
growing commercial  transactions  with  gold  standard 
countries  she  is  feeling  more  and  more,  all  the  time,  the 
drawbacks  and  inconveniences  arising  from  an  adherence 
to  the  silver  standard.  The  fluctuations  in  the  gold  value 
of  sih'er,  often  sudden  and  great,  and  seldom  foreseeable, 
introduce  a great  speculative  element  into  trade  with  for- 
eign countries.  The  importer  cannot  tell  what  will  be 
the  silver  equivalent,  on  the  arrival  of  his  goods,  of  the 
gold  price  at  which  he  has  bought  them — so  that  in  a 
competitive  market,  where  it  is  important  to  quote  as  low 
a price  as  possible  to  his  purchasers,  he  may  find  a pro- 
spective profit  turned  into  a loss  by  a fall  in  exchange 
after  he  has  fixed  his  price  to  the  purchaser.  This  un- 
certainty must  curtail  transactions  and  restrict  trade. 
Moreover,  the  Government,  in  making  foreign  loans, 
must  always  agree  to  repay  a fixed  amount  in  gold ; and 
the  great  fall  in  silver  which  has  taken  place  in  the  past 
few  years,  and  may  still  take  place,  results  in  the  pay- 
ment of  vastly  larger  amounts  in  silver,  both  in  principal 
and  interest,  than  were  originally  calculated  upon. 

It  is  of  the  utmost  importance,  therefore,  that  China 
should  reform  her  currency  and  finance,  by  establishing  a 
fixed  unit  of  value,  based  on  a gold  standard,  and  by  the 
Government  issue  of  standard  coins  representing  con- 
venient fractions  or  multiples  of  that  unit  which  should 
become  the  only  legal  tender  throughout  the  Empire. 

The  third  great  need  of  China  is  a separate  judiciary 
system,  with  definite  and  uniform  laws  and  established 
principles  of  interpretation;  with  courts  of  justice  ac- 
cessible equally  to  all,  presided  over  by  trained  judges, 
able  and  impartial.  This  is  an  absolutely  essential  ante- 
cedent of  the  abolition  of  extra  territoriality  in  China. 
Under  existing  conditions  the  hearing  and  decision  of 


2o6 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


cases,  both  civil  and  criminal,  is  only  a part  of  the  mani- 
fold duties  of  an  administrative  official,  who  brings  to  this 
part  of  his  work,  in  most  cases,  no  special  training,  no 
thorough  knowledge  of  laws  and  precedents ; and  whose 
court  is  generally  so  hedged  about  with  officious  under- 
lings and  greedy  clerks,  that  the  poor  man  has  little 
chance  of  getting  his  case  properly  brought  before  it,  or 
fairly  decided.  It  is  greatly  to  the  credit  of  the  honest 
magistrate  in  China  that,  in  spite  of  the  drawbacks  un- 
der which  he  works,  he  so  often  decides  cases,  when 
properly  brought  before  him,  according  to  their  merits, 
by  the  exercise  of  common  sense  and  keen  insight — un- 
hampered, as  well  as  unaided,  by  fixed  and  definite  laws 
and  established  precedents.  But  such  righteous  decisions 
depend  too  much  upon  the  character  and  personality  of 
the  judge,  and  cannot  be  counted  upon  with  such  reason- 
able certainty  as  could  a just  decision  in  a court  pre- 
sided over  by  trained  and  experienced  Judges,  whose 
reasoning  must  flow  in  a channel  bounded  by  certain  fixed 
and  well-known  laws  and  established  principles  of  inter- 
pretation. It  is  unnecessary  to  say  that  the  Judges  and 
lesser  officers  of  the  courts  must  be  carefully  selected  and 
above  suspicion ; that  access  to  the  courts  should  be  ac- 
companied by  the  least  formalities  possible : and  that 
such  formalities  and  observances  as  are  absolutely  nec- 
essary should  be  published  for  the  information  of  all. 
The  creation  of  such  separate  judicial  system,  the  estab- 
lishment of  courts,  the  training  of  judges  and  other  law 
officers,  the  making  of  rules  of  legal  procedure,  the  mak- 
ing, revision  and  codification  of  laws  of  general  applica- 
bility— all  these  oflfer  a vast  field  for  useful  work,  for 
which  many  of  the  .students  here  are  trying  to  fit  them- 
selves. 

The  next  field  for  effort  to  which  I shall  refer  is  that 
of  public  sanitary  ivories  and  municipal  improvements. 


CHINESE  STUDENTS  IN  AMERICA  207 


Already  much  has  been  done  in  this  regard  in  some  of  the 
great  cities  of  China — notably  in  Peking  and  Tientsin, 
where  the  present  condition  of  things  shows  a startling 
contrast  to  that  which  prevailed  ten  years  ago.  But  apart 
from  these  few  cities  the  want  of  care  for  the  health, 
safety  and  convenience  of  the  public  is  as  complete  as  it 
ever  was.  Drainage,  scavenging,  street  cleaning,  light- 
ing. policing,  fire  prevention,  a pure  and  adequate  water 
supply,  public  parks  and  recreation  grounds — these  are 
either  primitive  and  inadequate  or  altogether  wanting  in 
most  of  the  towns  and  cities  of  China.  All  of  the  stu- 
dents, whatever  their  special  line  of  study  may  be,  can 
learn  by  observation  something  of  these — and,  profit- 
ing by  our  mistakes  as  well  as  by  our  successes,  will  be 
able  to  describe  to  their  countrymen  in  China  some  de- 
tails of  the  progress  which  has  been  made  in  American 
and  European  towns  in  public  sanitary  and  kindred 
works,  and  to  create  a sentiment  for  such  works  in  China 
— while  some  of  the  students  are  giving  special  study  to 
the  problems  of  municipal  administration,  sanitation  and 
public  utilities,  so  that  they  may  have  the  knowledge  and 
ability  to  take  charge  themselves  of  the  carrying  out  of 
such  improvements  as  may  be  decided  upon. 

In  the  matter  of  transportation  facilities,  great  strides 
have  already  been  made  in  China.  The  rapid  increase  in 
the  railway  mileage  during  the  past  few  years,  and  the 
number  of  railways  now  building,  or  projected  and  sanc- 
tioned, show  that  progress,  in  this  direction  at  least,  is 
fast  overcoming  the  opposition  of  the  more  conservative 
element  of  the  population.  The  traveler  who  has  once 
had  the  experience  of  making  in  twenty-four  hours,  and 
with  comparative  comfort,  the  journey  which  in  other 
days  has  taken  a month  to  accomplish — a month  of  weari- 
ness and  hardship,  and  at  an  expense  twenty-fold  greater 
than  that  of  the  railway — will  never  again  be  hostile  to 


2o8  china  and  the  FAR  EAST 

the  fire-wheel  wagon ; and  his  experience  will  influence 
the  opinion  of  his  friends  and  neighbors  who  have  not 
yet  tried  it.  We  may  say  that  already,  except  amongst 
people  making  their  living  by  the  old  methods  of  trans- 
portation, hostility  to  railways  has  practically  disap- 
peared ; while  the  advantages  of  steamer  transportation 
have  been  fully  appreciated  for  a generation  past.  And 
even  those  who  make  their  living  as  carters,  boatmen, 
packmen  and  porters  are  finding  out  that,  though  their 
field  of  operation  has  been  curtailed  and  they  are  now 
coming  to  be  employed  more  in  transporting  goods  to  and 
fro  between  the  shipping  points  on  the  railways  and  the 
country  not  yet  reached  by  them,  the  great  increase  both 
in  passenger  and  freight  traffic  which  has  followed  the 
introduction  of  railways  has  given  the  old-style  trans- 
portation equipment  as  much  employment  in  its  smaller 
field  as  it  formerly  had  in  the  larger.  But  railways  and 
steamers  are  not  enough.  For  the  feeding  of  these  good 
roads  should  be  constructed  and  good  bridges  built,  mak- 
ing possible  the  employment  of  larger  and  more  economi- 
cal carts ; while  the  streams  and  canals  should  be  deep- 
ened and  improved  to  facilitate  and  expedite  boat  traffic. 

I have  said  that  hostility  to  railways  has  practically 
disappeared  in  China ; but,  while  this  is  true,  it  is  also 
true  that  there  is  a strong,  in  some  places  a violent,  senti- 
ment against  the  employment  of  foreigners,  or  rather 
the  control  of  foreigners  in  railway  construction.  The 
aim  of  the  Chinese,  which  has  lately  become  increasingly 
manifest,  to  develop  their  country’s  resources  and  to 
construct  and  operate  its  railways  and  transportation 
lines  as  far  as  possible  by  the  work  of  their  own  people 
is  one  which  must  meet  with  sympathetic  recognition,  so 
long  as  it  does  not  lead  to  a too  hasty  cutting  adrift  from 
foreign  aid  in  the  establishment  and  conduct  of  indus- 
tries and  undertakings  for  which  China  is  still  a new 


CHINESE  STUDENTS  IN  AMERICA  209 


field.  In  this  connection,  the  preparation  of  Chinese  by 
sound  technical  education  in  foreign  countries,  to  fill, 
when  thoroughly  fitted,  the  more  responsible  positions  in 
the  railways,  mines  and  other  undertakings,  is  a work  of 
the  utmost  importance.  When  a sufficient  number  of 
Chinese  are  thoroughly  fitted  for  the  work,  the  aid  of  the 
foreign  experts  need  no  longer  be  called  in;  but  until 
that  time  comes  we  must  be  of  opinion  that  the  agitation 
against  the  participation  of  foreigners  in  Chinese  indus- 
trial enterprises  is  premature  and  must  have  bad  results. 
Two  railways  have  been  built  in  China  by  Chinese  engi- 
neers unaided.  Amongst  the  students  now  in  America 
we  hope  that  there  are  a goodly  number  who  will  re- 
turn to  China  in  a few  years,  thoroughly  competent  en- 
gineers, capable  of  carrying  out  every  detail  of  railway 
construction  and  maintenance ; and  others  well  versed  in 
the  details  of  administering  and  operating  railways,  who 
can  take  complete  charge  of  that  branch  of  the  service. 
But  prudence  and  modesty  must  modify  the  ambition  of 
the  new-fledged  engineers ; and  a too  hasty  discarding  of 
foreign  expert  assistance  may  lead  to  disaster. 

Closely  bound  up  with  the  improvement  of  transporta- 
tion facilities  is  the  general  introduction  of  the  best  mod- 
ern methods  in  the  development  of  China’s  mineral 
resources;  for  it  would  be  folly  to  open  mines  with- 
out providing  easy  and  economical  means  of  transport- 
ing the  mineral  products  to  market.  The  extent  of  China’s 
mineral  resources  is  unknown  and  can  hardly  be  esti- 
mated ; for  thus  far  there  has  been  hardly  more  than  a 
scratching  of  the  surface,  which,  however,  has  revealed 
possibilities,  nay  certainties,  of  vast  stores  of  coal,  iron 
and  copper,  besides  considerable  quantities  of  other  min- 
erals. This  mineral  wealth  has  naturally  attracted  the 
attention  of  foreign  capitalists  who  have  made  numerous 
attempts  to  acquire  the  right  to  develop  it.  In  some 


210 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


cases  concessions  have  been  too  hastily  granted  by  the 
Chinese  Government,  by  the  terms  of  which  practical 
monopolies  for  the  opening  of  mines  in  immense  terri- 
tories have  been  given  to  foreigners.  Recognizing  its 
mistake,  on  repeated  outbursts  of  local  public  hostility 
to  the  concessionaires,  the  Government  has  done  its  best 
to  cancel,  at  a heavy  expense,  the  obnoxious  features  of 
concessions  already  made ; and  has  made  regulations  in- 
suring the  maintenance  of  adequate  Government  control 
and  a substantial  Government  excise  in  all  future  mining 
undertakings.  There  will  be  an  ample  field  for  the  ac- 
tivities of  Chinese  mining  experts  and  skillful  business 
managers  in  the  development  of  China’s  mineral  re- 
sources ; and  these  must  come  largely  from  the  ranks  of 
the  Chinese  students  abroad. 

The  improvement  of  public  education  comes  peculiarly 
within  the  range  of  the  possible  advantages  which  the  re- 
turned students  may  bring  to  their  country.  It  is  mani- 
festly impossible  for  China  to  send  abroad  for  education 
enough  young  men  to  fill  all  the  important  technical  po- 
sitions and  places  demanding  expert  knowledge  which  the 
carrying  out  of  reforms  and  improvements  will  require. 
The  students  educated  abroad  must,  on  their  return  to 
China,  not  only  practice  what  they  have  learned,  but 
must  teach  it  to  their  countrymen  at  home.  They  will, 
perhaps,  in  many  cases,  devote  themselves  exclusively  to 
teaching  what  they  have  learned  of  the  principles  of  gov- 
ernment ; of  the  technical  arts  and  sciences ; of  law  and 
medicine ; of  the  methods  of  commerce  and  transporta- 
tion ; of  public  utilities  and  sanitary  measures,  and  of 
educational  methods.  They  will  be  the  chosen  agents  of 
the  Government  in  the  general  establishment  of  common 
schools,  and  in  the  shaping  of  the  curriculum  and  methods 
of  study  in  those  schools,  to  the  end  that  the  youth  of 
China  may  get  the  best  training  for  the  new  conditions 


CHINESE  STUDENTS  IN  AMERICA  21 1 


of  life  into  which  their  country  is  rapidly  passing — and 
the  best  fitting  of  the  colleges  and  professional  and  tech- 
nical schools  with  which  the  common  schools  must  be 
supplemented.  And  in  the  scheme  of  education  the  edu- 
cation of  the  girls  will  not  be  neglected.  For  even  if 
woman’s  most  important  work  lies  in  the  home,  we  know 
that  the  home  is  a better  and  a happier  place  for  hus- 
band and  children  as  well  as  for  herself  when  the  mother 
has  a trained  mind  and  an  intelligent  knowledge  of  things 
above  the  humdrum  detail  of  the  housewife’s  daily  life. 
It  is  for  this  reason  that  the  increasing  number  of  wo- 
men students  who  are  coming  to  this  country  is  a specially 
pleasing  fact — for  it  indicates  a change  in  the  attitude 
towards  women  in  China  and  presages  an  improved  po- 
sition for  them.  We  may  assume  that  the  principal  ob- 
ject of  the  women  students  now  in  this  country — on  their 
return  to  China — will  be  to  promote  the  cause  of  female 
education,  and  we  may  rest  assured  that  their  part  will 
be  well  done. 

In  agricultural  methods  it  may  be  thought  that  China 
has  not  much  to  learn  from  other  countries.  It  is  cer- 
tainly true  that  patient  industry  and  careful  fertilization 
and  cultivation  produce  from  the  minutely  subdivided 
farms  of  China  about  the  maximum  crops  they  are  capa- 
ble of ; and  in  the  thickly  settled  regions,  where  farms  are 
so  small  and  laborers  so  plentiful,  there  is  little  need  of 
the  labor-saving  and  time-saving  devices  and  implements 
which  alone  make  farming  in  America  profitable.  But  in 
the  vast  and  sparsely  settled  regions  of  Manchuria  and 
other  outlying  parts  of  the  Empire  there  is  a great  field 
for  modern  agricultural  implements  and  for  the  scientific 
cultivation  of  large  farms.  And  everywhere  there  are 
floods  and  droughts  to  be  contended  against  by  extensive 
systems  of  drainage  and  dikes,  forestry  and  irrigation, 
w'here  engineers  and  agriculturists  must  work  together. 


212 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


Then,  too,  the  scientific  selection  of  fertilizers  adapted  to 
different  soils,  the  breeding  and  improvement  of  all  kinds 
of  live  stock,  and  the  application  of  the  latest  methods  in 
horticulture,  which  have  produced  such  wonderful  re- 
sults in  the  Western  world,  are  almost  unknown  in  China 
— while  dairy  farming,  strictly  speaking,  does  not  exist 
there.  There  is,  therefore,  even  for  the  student  of  agri- 
culture, a great  field  for  useful  work  in  China. 

And  now  I shall  make  brief  reference  to  certain  func- 
tions of  government  generally  recognized  in  Western 
countries  as  important  and  essential  to  the  public  wel- 
fare, but  which  in  China  are  either  altogether  neglected, 
or  most  inadequately  attended  to — I mean  Government 
provision  for  the  care  of  the  poor,  the  insane  and  feeble- 
minded, the  blind,  the  deaf,  the  disabled.  It  is  recognized 
in  all  countries  that  the  first  resort  of  the  unfortunate 
victims  of  such  afflictions  should  be  to  their  near  rela- 
tives, who  should  keep  them  and  care  for  them,  or  pro- 
vide for  them  to  the  best  of  their  ability ; and  nowhere 
in  the  world  is  duty  towards  relatives,  even  those  not  of 
the  closest  consanguinity,  more  fully  and  practically  rec- 
ognized than  in  China.  For  this  reason  the  lack  of  Gov- 
ernment provision  for  these  unfortunates  is  less  keenly 
felt  in  China  than  it  would  be  in  countries  where  the 
claims  of  kinship  are  less  freely  recognized.  But  in 
China,  as  in  every  country,  there  are  innumerable  families 
for  whom  existence  is  a hand-to-mouth  struggle  from  day 
to  day — who  with  long  days  of  hard  work  by  every  mem- 
ber of  the  family  can  just  manage  to  get  the  bare  neces- 
saries of  life.  To  such  families  the  support  of  disabled 
or  afflicted  relatives,  even  the  nearest  kindred,  is  a burden 
taxing  their  utmost  resources,  and  testing  their  sense  of 
duty  to  the  limit ; and  in  many  cases  it  becomes  an  im- 
possibility— the  victims  must  be  left  to  beggary,  charity 
or  death.  There  are,  of  course,  also,  instances  in  which 


CHINESE  STUDENTS  IN  AMERICA  21.^ 

tlie  claims  of  kinship  when  costly  arc  not  acknowledged 
even  by  well-to-do  relatives ; and  except  in  the  case  of 
the  closest  relationship,  such  as  parents  and  children  or 
brothers  and  sisters,  it  is  practically  impossible,  either 
by  force  of  public  opinion  or  by  official  intervention,  to 
bring  about  such  practical  acknowledgment,  and  pro- 
vision for  the  wants  of  disabled  or  afflicted  kindred.  It 
is  this  vast  oumber  of  helpless  poor  for  whom  their  rela- 
tives either  cannot  or  will  not  provide,  that  in  Western 
countries  become  the  inmates  of  institutions  founded  and 
maintained  either  by  the  Government  or  by  corporations 
endowed  by  private  gifts  and  bequests  or  by  public  sub- 
scription. Institutions  of  the  latter  description  are  not 
unknown  in  China,  but  they  are  comparatively  few  and 
their  equipment  and  arrangements  are  meager.  In 
America  we  find  everywhere  institutions  for  the  blind 
where  children  and  youth  born  blind  or  who  have  lost 
their  sight  are  not  only  comfortably  lodged,  fed  and 
clothed,  but  are  made  to  learn  useful  work  by  which, 
without  the  aid  of  their  eyes,  they  are  able  to  earn  a liv- 
ing, or  at  least  to  contribute  towards  their  own  support ; 
and  they  are  taught  to  read  with  their  fingers,  are  in- 
structed in  music,  encouraged  to  take  part  in  games  and 
amusements,  made  to  take  regular  exercise,  and  have 
provided  for  them  concerts,  lectures  and  other  entertain- 
ments which  help  to  light  the  darkness  of  their  perpetual 
night.  Contrast  the  lot  of  these  with  that  of  the  poor 
blind  in  China — sitting  all  day  at  the  street  comers  wait- 
ing for  meager  alms ; or  going  from  house  to  house  with 
their  apologies  for  music — the  blind  leading  the  blind — 
collecting  a pittance  to  keep  them  alive  in  their  wretched 
lodgings,  where  perhaps  they  are  robbed  of  the  greater 
part  even  of  that  pittance  by  the  padrones,  who  exploit 
them.  So,  too,  we  find  but  rarely  in  China  counterparts 
of  the  asylums  for  the  insane,  institutions  for  idiots  and 


214 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


feeble-minded,  hospitals  for  incurables,  and  for  pa- 
tients afflicted  with  various  diseases,  homes  for  the  aged 
or  disabled  poor,  institutions  for  deaf  mutes,  orphan 
asylums,  bureaus  of  organized  charity  and  the  many 
similar  institutions  which  in  this  country  and  in  Europe 
are  doing  so  much  to  alleviate  the  misery  caused  by  pov- 
erty and  affliction.  I do  not  mean  that  there  is  nothing 
of  the  kind  in  China,  for  charity  and  benevolence  are  as 
common  there  as  in  other  parts  of  the  world ; men  of 
means  do,  in  many  cases,  devote  special  time  and  atten- 
tion to  some  particular  form  of  charity;  and  the  provin- 
cial and  trade  guilds  often  maintain  establishments  for 
the  support  of  the  poor  and  disabled  of  their  own  par- 
ticular people.  But  rarely  does  the  Government,  gen- 
eral or  local,  recognize  responsibility  in  these  matters ; 
and  the  few  institutions  which  are  maintained  by  con- 
tributed funds  are  crude  and  incomplete,  aiming  at  noth- 
ing more  than  the  provision  of  bare  shelter  and  food  to 
the  inmates.  In  the  establishment  of  Government  hos- 
pitals, indeed,  considerable  progress  has  been  made — 
owing  to  the  general  appreciation  of  the  excellent  work 
done  by  the  many  missionary  hospitals  which  have  existed 
in  constantly  increasing  numbers  for  a generation  past. 

A careful  study  of  all  these  different  institutions  for 
the  care  and  treatment  of  the  poor,  the  disabled  and  the 
variously  afflicted  might  well  engage  exclusively  for  a 
time  the  attention  of  a large  number  of  the  students ; that 
they  may  be  prepared  to  take  an  active  part  in  introduc- 
ing to  their  own  country  the  great  blessings  which  these 
institutions  have  brought  to  the  poor  and  unfortunate  in 
Western  countries. 

In  the  fundamental  principles  of  commerce  China  has 
not  very  much  to  learn  from  Western  nations.  In  the 
great  requisites  of  succe.ss  in  mercantile  business  the  Chi- 
nese merchant  is  generally  acknowledged  to  be  well 


CHINESE  STUDENTS  IN  AMERICA  215 


equipped.  He  is  quick  to  sec  opportunities  and  bold  in 
seizing  them ; he  is  economical,  wasting  nothing  in  use- 
less display;  he  is  shrewd  in  furthering  his  own  interest, 
but  wise  enough  to  see  that  he  does  that  best  when  he 
serves  well  his  customers  and  deals  fairly  with  competi- 
tors : and  he  keeps  his  word.  It  is  these  characteristics 
that  have  made  the  Chinese  merchant  so  generally  suc- 
cessful and  so  worthy  of  respect.  But  great  changes  have 
taken  place  in  recent  years  in  the  scale  on  which  business 
is  carried  on  in  the  Western  world ; and  the  tendency 
towards  combination  in  the  many  great  industries  which 
have  grown  so  rapidly  of  late,  has  made  necessary  new 
business  methods  to  meet  new  conditions ; and  only  those 
who  adopt  the  up-to-date  methods  can  hope  to  succeed. 
These  great  combinations  have  not  yet  been  introduced 
to  any  great  extent  in  China.  I am  one  of  those  who 
would  like  that  they  never  should  be — but  their  introduc- 
tion is  probably  inevitable,  sooner  or  later ; and  we  can 
only  hope  that  in  the  hands  of  the  Chinese  business  man 
they  will  be  so  managed  as  to  yield  the  benefits  which 
are  unquestionably  derivable  from  them,  unaccompanied 
by  the  evils  with  which  the  unscrupulous  greed  of  their 
promoters  and  managers  has  associated  them  in  this 
country.  The  careful  study  of  these  great  commercial  en- 
terprises and  industries  should  be  undertaken  by  some  of 
the  Chinese  students  in  America,  that  they  may  thor- 
oughly understand  the  principles  on  which  they  are  run, 
and  the  details  of  management  on  which  their  success 
depends ; while  endeavoring  to  distinguish  between  the 
legitimate  advantages  in  them  and  the  abuses  which  too 
often  spring  from  them ; so  that  when  these  great  com- 
binations begin  to  invade  China,  these  students  may  be 
in  a position  to  point  out  how  they  may  be  so  conducted 
by  their  promoters,  under  proper  Government  control, 
as  to  bring  more  good  than  ill  to  the  country. 


2i6 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


Banking  methods  and  clearing  house  procedure,  fire, 
life  and  marine  insurance,  may  be  studied  with  profit, 
and  the  Chinese  business  man  will  be  quick  to  see  and  to 
adopt  any  features  in  all  these  which  would  be  an  im- 
provement on  existing  methods  in  China. 

In  what  has  been  said  I have  outlined  a few  of  the 
opportunities  for  usefulness  which  are  open  to  Chinese 
students  in  America  on  their  return  to  their  native  land. 
The  list  is  by  no  means  complete ; it  is  intended  to  be 
but  an  outline  of  what  seems  to  me  the  most  important 
of  the  subjects  which  should  engage  the  attention  of 
students.  It  could  be  added  to  and  enlarged  upon  almost 
indefinitely ; and  perhaps  I have  not  mentioned  some  sub- 
jects which  may  justly  seem  to  many  of  you  to  surpass 
in  importance  some  of  those  which  I have  specified.  But 
is  not  this  a programme  sufficiently  large  and  lofty  to 
justify,  a thousand  fold,  the  policy  which  has  sent  stu- 
dents here,  and  to  fill  with  ambition  and  enthusiasm  the 
young  men  to  whom  such  opportunities  are  offered?  The 
students  of  law,  political  science,  history  and  methods  of 
government  will  devote  themselves  especially  to  the  re- 
form of  the  civil  service,  and  the  establishment  of  a sep- 
arate judicial  system;  the  students  of  practical  science 
will  have  for  their  special  work  the  improvement  and 
extension  of  ways  and  means  of  transportation,  the  de- 
velopment of  mineral  resources,  the  introduction  of  pub- 
lic sanitary  works  and  municipal  improvements,  and  of 
effective  means  of  contending  against  China’s  ancient 
enemies — flood  and  drought.  The  students  of  finance 
and  commerce  will  have  to  deal  with  the  reform  of  the 
currency,  and  the  management,  regulation  and  control  of 
trade  and  industries.  The  students  of  agriculture  must 
attack  the  problem  of  afforestation,  and  introduce  new 
branches  or  improved  methods  in  agricultural  and  hor- 
ticultural industry,  besides  working  hand  in  hand  with 


CHIXESE  STUDENTS  IN  AMERICA  217 


the  engineers  in  matters  of  drainage  and  irrigation.  Stu- 
dents of  medicine  must  devote  themselves  to  the  estab- 
lishment of  hospitals,  and  devising  measures  for  the  pres- 
ervation of  public  health.  And  all  students,  whatever 
their  special  studies  and  aims  may  be,  will  work  together 
to  create  a public  sentiment  in  favor  of  general  education 
on  modern  lines;  of  public  measures  for  safeguarding  the 
health,  comfort  and  security  of  the  people ; and  of  sys- 
tematic provision,  by  the  Government  and  by  organized 
charities,  for  the  poor  and  the  variously  disabled. 

And  now,  having  said  so  much  about  what  benefits  the 
students  may  take  back  to  their  country  from  us,  I want 
to  speak  a few  words  on  the  other  hand  concerning  cer- 
tain respects  in  which  China  is  already  in  a happy  con- 
dition and  needs  not  to  learn  of  us ; and  to  urge  the  care- 
ful cherishing  of  these  advantages,  lest,  in  the  movement 
toward  modern  material  improvements,  the  good  of  the 
old  ways  should  be  discarded  with  the  bad.  What  has 
China,  then,  which  is  better  than  what  we  can  offer  her 
in  its  stead? 

In  the  first  place  the  Chinese  have  simplicity  of  life. 
The  Chinese  people  are  patient,  industrious  and  frugal, 
content  with  a simple  life,  earning  by  daily  toil  the  means 
of  subsistence,  and  not  looking  for  or  coveting  luxuries 
beyond  their  means.  Their  food  is  simple,  but  there  is 
enough  of  it  and  in  sufficient  variety  (I  speak  of  the  ordi- 
nary middle-class  people),  their  clothing  is  sensible  in 
its  shapes,  and  adaptable  to  the  seasons,  but  withal  cheap 
and  not  subject  to  the  vagaries  and  whims  of  fashion 
causing  garments  to  be  discarded  long  before  they  are 
worn  out.  Their  houses  are  generally  comfortable,  and, 
if  the  income  permits  it,  have  some  accessories  and  adorn- 
ment beyond  the  bare  necessities  of  life ; but  there  is 
rarely  any  extravagant  display.  Economy  and  frugality 
are  the  rule ; and  many  of  the  necessities  and  comforts 


2i8 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


of  life  are  home-made — spinning,  weaving  and  the  mak- 
ing of  clothing  and  shoes  being  not  yet  lost  arts  in  the 
Chinese  household.  Hence  the  cost  of  living  is  small, 
and  a Chinese  family  can  be  maintained  in  comfort  (ac- 
cording to  their  standard  of  comfort)  on  an  income 
which  would  not  begin  to  pay  the  rent  of  a family  in  a 
similar  position  in  America.  Now  the  introduction  of 
modern  material  improvements  is  bound  to  create  new 
wants,  and  to  change  the  standard  of  living  in  China,  as 
it  has  in  Western  countries.  When  we  see  our  neighbors 
enjoying  some  new  addition  or  improvement  to  the 
household  economy,  some  labor-saving  or  comfort-in- 
creasing innovation,  or  some  new  means  of  amusement, 
we  want  it  too — although  we  never  missed  it  before ; and 
if  we  can  afford  it,  it  is  good  that  we  should  have  it.  But 
such  improvements  and  innovations  have  been  so  nu- 
merous and  comprehensive  in  recent  years,  that  to  avail 
of  them  entails  a cost  which  is  burdensome  if  not  pro- 
hibitory— the  old  income  will  not  suffice  for  the  new 
ways ; and  the  old  ways  must  be  followed ; no  longer  con- 
tentedly, but  too  often  with  bitter  feeling  and  jealousy. 
And  so,  I think,  the  introduction  of  modern  improvements 
into  China  is  not  going  to  be  an  unmixed  blessing.  In 
so  far  as  these  improvements  cheapen  the  necessities  of 
life,  or  add  to  its  simple  comforts,  they  will  do  nothing 
but  good ; but  in  so  far  as  they  minister  to  luxury,  ease 
and  pleasure  and  create  new  wants  and  set  up  new  stand- 
ards in  this  respect,  while  they  may  still  be  good  for 
those  who  can  afford  them,  they  may  be  a bane  to 
those  who  cannot ; for  the  increased  diversion  of  capital 
to  the  creation  of  luxuries  must  result  in  an  increased 
cost  of  the  necessities  of  life.  I merely  call  attention  to 
this  probability  not  with  the  belief  that  anything  that  I 
can  say  or  that  anybody  could  say,  will  avert  the  issue — 
for  the  evil  must  be  taken  with  the  good ; let  us  hope 


CHINESE  STUDENTS  IN  AMERICA  219 


that  the  evil  will  not  he  more  than  the  good.  At  any  rate 
China  must  be  prepared  to  lose  much  of  the  simplicity 
of  life  and  the  contentedness  of  her  people ; for  these  are 
inconsistent  with  the  attempt  to  keep  pace  with  the  rush 
of  modern  civilization. 

Again,  China  has  a more  even  distribution  of  wealth 
than  is  found  in  this  country.  Great  fortunes  there  are 
in  China,  but  they  are  comparatively  few : and  there  is 
no  restless  striving  for  great  wealth.  They  only  add  to 
the  material  wealth  of  the  world  who  take  some  useful 
product  from  land  or  water,  or  devise  and  operate  the 
ways  and  means  of  preparing  it  for  use  and  of  getting  it 
to  the  consumer — he  who  gets  wealth  for  himself  by  add- 
ing to  the  wealth  of  the  world — by  intelligent  industry, 
or  by  discovering  and  operating  new  and  improved  meth- 
ods in  any  of  the  numerous  paths  and  processes  through 
which  all  products  must  pass  before  reaching  the  con- 
sumer, deserves  his  wealth ; and  his  possession  of  it 
ought  not  to  excite  envy  and  discontent.  But  he  who  adds 
to  his  own  wealth  only  practicing  clever  and  often  un- 
scrupulous schemes  for  transferring  to  himself  the  pos- 
sessions of  others,  is  of  no  benefit  to  the  world — the 
greater  his  fortune  the  less  is  his  merit;  and  vast  for- 
tunes thus  made  cannot  fail  to  excite  a sense  of  the  in- 
justice of  things  in  the  minds  of  the  struggling  masses, 
and  arouse  apprehensions  of  serious  trouble  in  the  future. 
Colossal  fortunes  and  extravagant  display  of  wealth  are 
extremely  rare  in  China — may  they  ever  remain  so ! 

Next — and  best  of  all — China  is  a peaceful  and  a peace- 
loving  nation.  That  she  may  be  kept  so  is  the  fervent 
wish  of  her  truest  friends,  and  should  be  the  aim  of  her 
students  in  this  country,  so  far  as  their  efforts  and  in- 
fluence will  help.  There  are  many  who  honestly  believe 
that  the  only  way  to  insure  peace  is  to  expend  annually 
the  cost  of  a small  war,  in  the  creation,  equipment  and 


220 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


maintenance  of  a powerful  army  and  navy.  The  pic- 
ture of  a magnificent  navy,  well-administered,  officered, 
and  manned ; and  a great  army,  well-disciplined,  trained 
and  equipped  and  efficiently  commanded,  is,  no  doubt,  one 
which  is  lodged  in  the  minds  of  very  many  of  our  Chi- 
nese students — as  an  ideal  to  be  striven  for,  in  the  in- 
terest of  the  security,  integrity,  dignity  and  glory  of  their 
country.  And  if  we  were  convinced  that  only  by  the 
possession  of  such  an-  army  and  navy  could  China’s  in- 
tegrity be  maintained  and  her  full  sovereign  rights  recog- 
nized, we  should  heartily  advocate  the  policy  of  display 
of  force.  But  the  world  is  coming  to  believe  that  war  is 
not  a necessity,  and  that  the  scope  of  diplomacy  and  of 
international  arbitration  wall  gradually,  or  perhaps  even 
suddenly,  be  enlarged  so  as  to  include  all  matters  at  is- 
sue between  nations ; or  that  war  may  become  impossible 
through  the  operation  of  an  international  pact,  whereby 
every  signatory  nation  shall  bind  itself  to  submit  its  own 
disputes,  after  diplomacy  has  done  its  best,  to  the  de- 
cision of  the  Court  of  Arbitration,  and  to  join  with  all 
the  other  nations  in  upholding  the  decisions  of  that 
court,  and  in  helping  one  another  by  turning  their  united 
forces  against  the  nation  which  refuses  arbitration,  or 
makes  war  upon  another  nation  which  has  declared  its 
willingness  to  submit  its  case  to  the  court.  Such  a con- 
summation may  yet  be  far  off,  but  at  least  its  possibility 
is  recognized — it  is  no  longer  generally  regarded  as  a 
chimera.  A want  of  confidence  in  the  ability  and  impar- 
tiality of  the  tribunal  is  the  only  sound  reason  any  na- 
tion could  have,  believing  fully  in  the  justice  of  its  case, 
for  refusing  to  submit  it  to  an  international  court  of  ar- 
bitration, but  surely  that  tribunal  could  be  chosen  from 
the  ablest  and  best  men  of  all  nations.  Let  not  China  be 
in  a hurry,  then,  to  create  a great  army  and  navy;  let 
her  rather  be  the  first — lead  the  van — in  subscribing  un- 


CHINESE  STUDENTS  IN  AMERICA  221 


reservedly  to  an  international  pact  for  compulsory  ar- 
bitration ; and  thus  shall  she  preserve  her  traditional  char- 
acter as  a peace-loving  nation.  The  cost  of  a great  army 
and  navy  is  an  enormous  drain  on  the  resources  of  a 
country ; and  China’s  finances  are  in  no  condition  to  stand 
it.  The  strongest  and  richest  nations  of  the  world  arc 
finding  the  burden  of  “ maintaining  peace  by  preparing 
for  war  ” almost  too  much  for  them — new  and  heavier 
taxes  have  to  be  laid  year  after  year,  and  the  voice  of 
discontent  is  ever  growing  louder.  Moreover,  it  is  an 
open  question  whether  the  possession  of  a powerful  army 
and  navy  does  not  in  itself  increase  the  danger  of  war, 
through  the  awakening  of  a desire  to  use  them  for  glory 
or  aggrandizement.  It  certainly  puts  the  weaker  of  two 
nations  in  any  dispute  at  a hopeless  disadvantage  with 
the  stronger,  without  regard  to  the  rights  of  the  case.  A 
well-equipped,  well-disciplined  and  well-drilled  force 
sufficiently  large  to  maintain  internal  peace,  and  a fleet 
of  well-found  and  well-commanded  gunboats  to  suppress 
piracy  on  the  coast,  are  all  that  China  should  try  to  main- 
tain at  present.  In  her  relations  with  other  nations  an 
invariable  adherence  to  strict  right,  the  exercise  of  great 
care  as  to  agreements,  but  the  strict  discharge  of  obliga- 
tions once  entered  into,  will  put  her  in  a stronger  position 
and  be  a surer  guarantee  against  aggression  than  would 
the  possession  of  a great  army  and  navy. 

Other  advantages  which  China  does  not  have  to  seek 
abroad  consist  in  the  possession  by  her  people,  in  a 
marked  degree,  of  certain  good  qualities  and  character- 
istics which  I can  only  briefly  mention  here,  without  en- 
larging upon  or  illustrating  them. 

The  Chinese  are  orderly,  law-abiding  and  well-behaved ; 
they  have  a strong  sense  of  right  and  justice — are  fair- 
minded  ; they  are  reliable  in  commercial  dealings — pay 
their  debts,  and  keep  their  agreements  whether  verbal 


222 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


or  written;  they  are  dutiful  to  parents,  fond  of  children, 
and  mindful  of  the  ties  of  kindred ; they  are  courteous 
and  polite,  mindful  of  eitquette,  and  punctilious  about  re- 
turning courtesies  or  favors ; they  are  respectful  to  elders 
and  superiors ; they  honor  and  respect  character  and  in- 
tellectual ability,  and  do  not  recognize  an  aristocracy  of 
wealth.  This  list  might  be  largely  extended,  but  it  is 
enough  to  show  what  I have  undertaken  to  show — that 
China  has  not,  by  any  means,  to  seek  abroad  all  the  requi- 
sites for  national  greatness  and  popular  welfare ; some 
of  the  most  important  are  hers  already.  It  would  be  too 
much  to  say  that  we  in  America  are  inferior  to  the  Chi- 
nese in  all  these  characteristics  which  I have  just  men- 
tioned— and  I do  not  believe  that  the  Chinese  students 
are  going  to  suffer  materially  in  any  respect  from  their 
close  contact  with  us  during  their  stay  in  this  country — 
but  I venture  to  say  that  the  high  standard  of  conduct 
and  practice  in  some  of  the  respects  named,  which  is 
recognized  equally  in  both  countries  as  the  one  to  be 
aimed  at,  is  more  generally  attained  to  in  China  than  in 
America. 

The  benefits  that  China  can  get  from  us  are  many  and 
great;  the  advantages  which  she  has  already  are  hardly 
less  important.  How  much  of  the  new  shall  be  adopted 
and  how  much  rejected — how  much  of  the  old  shall  be 
cherished  and  how  much  discarded — these  are  questions 
in  the  determination  of  which  a very  important  part  is 
to  be  taken  by  the  Chinese  students  in  America. 


XIII 


THE  NEW  LEARNING  OF  CHINA— ITS  STATUS 
AND  OUTLOOK 

China  has  already  passed  the  initial  stages  in  a great 
transformation,  political,  industrial,  social,  educational, 
and  is  destined  in  the  near  future  to  set  itself  free  from 
its  age-long  bondage  to  past  ideals  and  institutions,  and 
to  place  itself  by  the  side  of  Western  nations  in  their 
search  after  truth,  and  effort  to  better  the  conditions  of 
life.  Happily  China  does  not  need  to  lay  new  founda- 
tions for  its  political  and  social  reconstruction.  Chinese 
civilization  is  the  outgrowth  of  the  great  maxims  which 
her  sages  propounded  setting  forth  their  conceptions  of 
the  duties  of  life  under  the  conditions  of  ancient  society. 
These  maxims  are  not  mere  germinal  intuitions ; they  are 
ripe  judgments  upon  social  polity,  capable  of  entering 
into  the  ethical  substructure  of  modern  life.  What 
higher  end  of  learning  could  be  proposed  than  that  an- 
nounced by  Confucius  in  the  opening  passage  of  “ The 
Great  Learning  ” : “ The  end  of  The  Great  Learning  is 
to  make  lustrous  the  innately  lustrous  virtue,  to  renovate 
the  people,  and  to  rest  in  the  highest  good  ” ? This  ornate, 
Oriental  language  means,  when  translated  into  modern 
English,  that  the  end  of  education  is  ethical  rather  than 
intellectual.  It  aims  to  rightly  develop  the  moral  powers 
of  the  individual,  who  in  turn  should  live  to  ennoble  the 
lives  of  the  people,  that  all  may  attain  to  the  true  goal 
of  life,  which  is  that  of  mutual  right  living.  We  can 
further  accept  without  serious  criticism  the  great  sage’s 

223 


224 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


enumeration  of  the  cardinal  virtues : “ Benevolence,” — 
or  active  good  will  towards  others, — “ Righteousness,” 
” Propriety,” — or  conduct  befitting  the  varied  relation- 
ships of  life, — “ Wisdom,”  “ Sincerity.”  So  again  we 
may  accept  the  sage’s  resume  of  the  basic  social  relation- 
ship, that  of  “ Prince  and  official,  parent  and  child,  hus- 
band and  wife,  elder  and  younger  brother, — including 
kinship  in  general, — and  that  of  friend  and  friend.”  We 
may  admit  that  Confucius  saw  only  dimly  the  great  truth 
that  all  men  are  brethren,  but  he  clearly  apprehended  and 
gave  expression  to  the  truth  that  human  life  is  subject 
to  a moral  order,  a law  pervasive  and  unceasing  in  its 
action,  rewarding  virtue  and  punishing  evil.  The  an- 
cient sages  named  this  law  ‘‘  The  Law  of  Heaven,”  since 
they  conceived  it  to  be  the  outward  expression  of  the  na- 
ture of  Heaven.  Thus  the  Christian  teacher  finds  ready 
at  hand  certain  foundation  truths,  both  of  ethics  and  re- 
ligion, which  he  can  appropriate  for  use,  needing  only 
to  enlarge  and  enrich  them  with  the  conception  that  moral 
law  expresses  the  nature  not  only  of  Heaven,  but  of 
the  God  of  Heaven,  since  its  source  is  in  the  beneficent 
character  of  God,  which  is  the  unchanging  standard  for 
right  human  conduct. 

Thus  China  in  entering  upon  the  acquisition  of  the  new 
learning  does  not  need  to  break  rudely  with  the  old 
learning  in  which  her  sages  canvassed  the  capacities  of 
human  nature,  the  relationships  of  life,  and  the  laws  which 
bind  society  into  a moral  and  spiritual  organism.  Chi- 
nese students  may  still  regard  the  sages  as  sent  of  Heaven 
to  be  the  great  teachers  of  their  fellow  men.  They  do 
need,  however,  to  break  with  the  past  in  regarding  the 
teachings  of  the  sages  as  ultimate  truth  beyond  which  it 
is  sacrilege  to  attempt  to  pass,  and  learn  the  lesson  which 
Western  scholarship  has  been  slow  to  learn,  that  all  truth 
is  best  apprehended  when  regarded  as  formative  in  its 


THE  NEW  LEARNING  OF  CHINA  225 


nature,  as  directing  thought  ever  onward  into  higher 
realms  of  truth. 

We  need  to  guard  against  the  misconception, — which 
has  its  source  in  ignorance, — that  ancient  Chinese  learn- 
ing is  without  present  value,  that  while  it  has,  perhaps, 
answered  some  good  purpose  in  the  past,  it  has  nothing 
to  contribute  to  the  present  or  the  future.  Such  is  not  the 
estimate  of  the  scholarship  of  China.  China  is  taking 
her  place  among  modern  nations  with  a literature  of 
which  she  is  justly  proud.  She  is  willing,  under  the  in- 
fluence of  modern  Western  thought,  to  modify,  indeed  to 
revolutionize,  her  methods  of  study,  and  to  use  new  ma- 
terial from  without  to  broaden  and  perfect  her  educa- 
tional structure ; but  she  has  no  thought  of  wholly  break- 
ing with  the  past,  of  turning  her  back  upon  her  ancient 
sages,  and  committing  herself  blindly  into  the  hands  of 
her  new  teachers.  There  is  danger  of  such  results,  it 
must  be  admitted,  among  Chinese  students  who  have  neg- 
lected the  old  learning  in  their  zeal  to  acquire  the  new, 
especially  among  those  whose  education  has  been  chiefly 
acquired  abroad;  but  such  men  soon  discover  that  they 
are  seriously  handicapped  in  competition  with  men  who 
have  added  a knowdedge  of  Western  learning  to  a schol- 
arly knowledge  and  use  of  their  own  language  and  liter- 
ature. The  leaders  in  the  renovation  of  China  now  be- 
ing inaugurated  are  to  be  men  able  to  transmit  the  best 
of  their  ancient  tradition,  enlarged  and  vitalized  by  the 
best  that  can  be  contributed  by  the  new  civilization  of  the 
West.  It  is,  perhaps,  not  possible  to  arrest  the  world- 
leveling process  in  matters  of  dress  and  the  general  ex- 
ternals of  social  intercourse,  but  it  is  to  be  earnestly 
hoped  that  the  old  learning  of  China,  while  it  will  be  pow- 
erfully influenced  by  the  new,  will  not  be  set  aside  in  ac- 
cepting the  new,  and  that  the  youth  of  China  will  con- 
tinue to  study  the  great  thoughts  of  the  sages,  and  with 


226 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


a more  fruitful  reverence  than  have  their  fathers,  since 
they  seek  both  to  know  those  thoughts  and  to  give  to 
them  a greater  efficiency  in  the  afifairs  of  life. 

Confucian  learning  constitutes  the  warp  and  woof  of 
Chinese  civilization.  The  teachings  of  the  sages  are  the 
constitution  of  China ; they  are  the  bed-rock  upon  which 
all  laws  are  built.  To  disregard  these  teachings  in  the 
administration  of  government  would  be  to  antagonize 
conduct  essential  to  the  principles  of  right.  But  while 
Confucian  thought  contains  so  much  of  valuable  and  per- 
manent truth,  and  has  exerted  so  powerful  an  influence  on 
myriads  of  people,  we  must  confess  that  it  is  narrow  in 
its  scope,  and  if  not  shallow  in  its  view  of  human  life,  it 
is  certainly  shallow  in  its  view  of  nature  and  of  man’s 
relations  to  nature.  Chinese  scholars  all  down  the  ages 
have  been  singularly  indifferent  to  any  rational  interpre- 
tation of  what  their  eyes  have  seen  and  their  ears  have 
heard  of  the  ongoings  of  nature.  They  stop  at  the  very 
threshold  of  the  study  of  the  external  world  and  are  sat- 
isfied with  a crude  interpretation  of  its  transformations. 
They  have  been  content  to  say  that  things  are  as  they 
are  by  the  law  of  their  being.  The  forces  of  growth  and 
decay,  of  life  and  change,  act  spontaneously  and  to  their 
necessary  ends,  and  it  is  idle  to  ask'concerning  the  how 
or  why, 

Confucian  scholars  have  seriously  lacked  in  their  power 
of  logical  thought,  the  ability  to  infer,  to  think  to  a con- 
clusion. Confucius  has  won  his  high  place  as  the  great 
teacher  of  China  by  the  clearness  with  which  he  appre- 
hended, and  gave  expression  to,  important  ethical  truths, 
that  ought  to  be  regulative  in  human  life,  and  yet  he  was 
content  to  go  back  2000  years  to  find  the  highest  pat- 
terns of  the  social  virtues,  and  undertook  to  bind  the  so- 
ciety of  his  times  to  the  ideals  of  those  early  ages.  Men- 
cius, who  showed  greater  ability  than  his  master  to  think 


THE  NEW  LEARNING  OF  CHINA  227 


articulately,  contributed  much  to  illustrate  and  empha- 
size his  teachings,  but  little  to  help  men  to  apply  them  to 
new  conditions,  and  so  to  prevent  that  social  petrification 
which  soon  set  in  and  put  an  end  to  all  vital  and  pro- 
gressive thought.  This  lack  of  logical  quality  which 
characterizes  the  teachings  of  the  sages  of  China  has 
stamped  itself  on  the  thought  of  the  people  and  has 
proved  to  be  the  arrest  of  all  science  and  of  all  inven- 
tion in  their  initial  stages,  and  has  held  Chinese  thought 
in  the  grasp  of  the  dead  hand  of  the  past. 

Chinese  scholarship  has  produced  a marvelous  system 
of  word-signs,  and  a literature  of  a far  higher  order  of 
excellence  than  Western  scholars  have  as  yet  appreciated. 
It  has  given  to  the  literary  class  surprising  skill  in  writ- 
ing these  word-signs,  making  difficult  and  complicated 
groupings  of  pen-strokes  into  real  works  of  art.  And 
yet  it  has  failed  to  train  and  discipline  its  students  in  the 
important  art  of  speech.  Many  of  the  Chinese  scholars 
have  never  learned  how  properly  to  talk.  Their  minds 
and  fingers  have  been  educated,  but  their  tongues  have 
been  neglected.  They  have  recently  created  a new  word 
for  a new  thing — “ yen  shuo  ” — •“  Lecture,”  now  being 
introduced  from  the  West,  where  a man  stands  on  his 
feet  and  addresses  an  audience  on  some  theme  in  an  or- 
derly and  progressive  manner. 

But  what  are  the  forces  that  have  operated  in  recent 
years  to  set  free  the  scholars  of  China  from  their  bond- 
age to  the  old  learning,  and  to  turn  their  faces  towards 
the  learning  of  the  present  and  future? 

( I ) It  may  seem  strange  to  mention  first  in  this  enu- 
meration the  wars  in  which  China  has  engaged  with 
Western  nations.  The  resulting  military  campaigns, 
though  of  limited  magnitude,  were  sufficient  to  inflict  a 
succession  of  humiliating  defeats  upon  China,  and  drive 
home  to  the  people  the  conviction  that  these  Western 


228 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


races,  whom  at  first  they  had  regarded  as  mere  “ red- 
haired  barbarians,”  had  a civilization  comparable  to  that 
of  China ; that  by  their  learning  and  cunning  they  had 
gained  possession  of  powers  of  nature  that  made  them 
easy  victors  when  they  measured  strength  with  the  Chi- 
nese. The  inference  was  inevitable : “ We  must  study 
the  Western  art  of  war  to  protect  ourselves  against  West- 
ern aggression.”  Thus  it  is  as  true  of  China  as  of  Japan 
that  the  thunder  of  Western  guns  first  awakened  the  peo- 
ple to  a sense  of  their  weakness  and  need  in  the  presence 
of  Western  power. 

(2)  Military  invasion  was  followed  by  political  de- 
mands. China  must  come  out  of  her  seclusion  and  ac- 
cept a place  in  the  family  of  nations.  She  must  enact 
treaties,  must  receive  and  send  ministers  and  consuls. 
Here  again,  she  must  not  only  match  strength  with 
strength,  but  intellect  with  intellect,  and  she  slowly  dis- 
covered that  she  was  dealing  with  nations  with  many 
centuries  of  experience  in  mutual  intercourse,  and  that 
this  experience  had  been  codified  into  principles  of  in- 
ternational conduct,  which  the  rulers  of  China  must  set 
themselves  to  study  if  they  could  hope  to  hold  their  own 
in  the  intricate  and  difficult  game  of  diplomacy. 

(3)  Through  international  intercourse  Chinese  youth 
found  their  way  to  the  Western  world  and  studied  in 
Western  schools,  to  return  in  due  time  to  give  their  new 
knowledge  to  their  countrymen.  These  young  men  at 
the  beginning  of  this  movement,  and  well  down  to  the 
present  time,  found  themselves  with  their  new  learning 
and  habits  and  tastes  out  of  joint  with  Chinese  thought 
which  was  still  running  in  traditional  lines.  What  they 
possessed  of  real  value  was  unappreciated  by  Confucian 
scholars,  who  had  not  yet  awakened  to  a realization  that 
the  Western  world  had  anything  of  good  to  give  to  China. 
But  while  these  men  found  themselves  disappointed  in 


THE  NEW  LEARNING  OF  CHINA  229 


that  leadership  for  which  their  wider  knowledge  fitted 
them,  they  did  a necessary  and  important  work  in  sowing 
their  new  ideas  in  their  circle  of  relatives  and  friends, 
ideas  that  were  certain  to  bear  fruit  at  no  distant  time. 

(4)  Mercantile  intercourse  has  increasingly  widened 
the  acquaintance  of  the  Chinese  with  the  Western  world 
and  forced  upon  them  the  conviction  that  Westerners  are 
possessed  of  a wide  range  of  knowledge  and  of  inventive 
skill  wholly  unknown  to  themselves,  by  which  they  have 
produced  a long  list  of  valuable  products  that  minister 
to  the  pleasures  of  life;  indeed  when  known  soon  take 
their  place  as  necessities  of  life.  By  intercourse  w’ith  the 
West  they  possess  themselves  of  clocks  and  watches, 
w'hich  mark  time  for  them  better  than  the  stone  sun- 
dial, and  tell  their  story  both  in  shade  and  in  sunshine, 
at  night  as  well  as  in  the  day.  They  substitute  glass  win- 
dows for  paper  and  enjoy  the  light  and  warmth  of  the 
sun  in  their  homes.  They  purchase  fabrics  spun  and 
woven  from  wool  which  they  can  make  into  warm  and 
elegant  garments.  They  purchase  coal  oil  which  in  their 
cities  and  villages  adds  some  hours  to  their  business  day, 
and  wddens  the  range  of  social  enjoyments.  These  and 
many  other  commodities  of  value  are  obtained  by  inter- 
change with  the  West.  Slowly  the  desire  is  awakened 
not  only  to  possess  these  articles  but  to  acquire  the  art 
of  producing  them,  and  this  desire  in  turn  begets  the  wish 
to  master  the  sciences  w^hich  give  such  knowledge  and 
skill  in  achievement. 

(5)  The  Chinese  are  a race  of  utilitarians.  They  are 
apt  pupils  in  learning  to  make  the  earth  yield  her  min- 
istry to  their  physical  needs.  The  Chinese  have  discov- 
ered the  industrial  value  of  steamships,  of  railroads,  of 
telegraphic  and  telephone  communications.  They  have 
long  knowm  something  of  the  value  of  their  coal  and  min- 
eral deposits.  They  have  now'  discovered  the  vast  su- 


230  CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 

periority  of  Western  methods  and  machinery  to  make 
the  rocks  yield  up  their  treasures  to  the  hand  of  man. 
They  have  come  to  realize  that  the  Western  world  has 
new  knowledge  and  new  methods  to  gather  from  both 
land  and  water  a more  abundant  ministry  to  the  needs  of 
man.  Here  again  is  a new  set  of  benefits  to  be  acquired 
by  the  new  education,  and  Chinese  students  desire  to  en- 
ter into  the  laboratory  to  learn  concerning  the  laws  that 
operate  in  physical  transformation ; they  wish  to  study 
engineering  that  they  may  have  a hand  in  building  and 
superintending  the  railroads  now  multiplying  in  China, 
and  in  developing  the  coal  and  mineral  resources  of  the 
country.  They  wish  to  study  telegraphy  to  meet  the  in- 
creasing demand  for  competent  operators ; to  study 
economics  to  fit  themselves  for  the  customs  and  consular 
service.  They  wish  to  study  scientific  farming,  horticul- 
ture, forestry,  etc.,  that  they  in  turn  may  become  teachers 
of  these  new  sciences  to  their  countrymen. 

(6)  For  two  generations  foreign  physicians  in  con- 
tinually increasing  numbers  have  been  entering  China, 
and  with  their  superior  medical  and  surgical  knowledge 
have  saved  multitudes  of  lives.  Chinese  physicians  of 
the  old  order  hardly  deserve  the  name.  Their  ignorance 
of  the  nature  of  disease  made  them  about  as  dangerous 
to  their  patients  as  the  disease  itself.  Happily  in  their 
total  ignorance  of  surgery  they  seldom  dared  to  use  the 
knife.  Under  such  conditions  the  contrast  with  Western 
medical  learning  and  skill  was  startling  and  convincing, 
and  in  due  time  the  desire  was  created  for  modern  medi- 
cal knowledge,  which  could  be  secured  only  as  the  reward 
of  patient,  orderly  study. 

For  many  generations  China  has  been  the  teacher  of 
Japan.  For  the  past  generation  conditions  have  been 
reversed,  and  China  has  been  the  slow  and,  until  very  re- 
cently, the  reluctant  learner  of  Japan  ; but  the  influence  of 


THE  NEW  LEARNING  OF  CHINA  231 


Japan  upon  China  in  its  marvelous  political  and  social 
awakening,  though  slow  in  the  beginning,  is  being  felt 
with  cumulative  power.  This  influence  is  directly  opera- 
tive in  arousing  the  Chinese  to  an  appreciation  of  the 
value,  indeed  the  necessity,  of  a knowledge  of  Western 
learning. 

(7)  Christian  education  at  the  hands  of  missionaries 
must  have  its  place  in  this  outline  enumeration  of  the 
forces  that  have  operated  to  produce  the  new  education 
in  China.  Christian  missions  have  had  as  the  end  of 
their  activity  the  implanting  of  the  Christian  life  in  the 
hearts  of  the  Chinese  people.  With  this  end  central  in 
thought  they  have  put  forth  their  chief  effort  to  influence 
men  and  women  of  mature  life,  but  as  their  work  has 
enlarged  they  have  increasingly  realized  that  to  make  it 
indigenous  and  permanent  it  must  be  committed  to  the 
leadership  of  native  men  and  women  of  wise  heads  as 
well  as  of  true  and  earnest  hearts, — and  this  means  the 
education  of  children  and  youth  under  the  best  Christian 
conditions.  Again,  the  Church  does  not  lose  sight  of  its 
central  aim  in  broadening  its  educational  activity  and 
seeking  to  bring  an  ever-increasing  number  of  non- 
Christian  students  into  its  institutions  of  learning,  thus 
making  Christian  thought  and  life  a pervasive  influence 
in  Chinese  society. 

The  following  is  a conservative  estimate  of  the  pres- 
ent status  of  Christian  education  in  China:  sixty  thou- 
sand boys  and  girls  are  studying  in  three  thousand 
schools  of  the  primary  grade.  Their  time  is  divided  be- 
tween learning  to  read  and  write  the  Chinese  language, 
learning  the  outline  history  and  teachings  of  the  Chris- 
tian religion,  and  the  usual  studies  acquired  by  children 
of  their  grade  in  Western  lands-  Twenty  thousand  boys 
and  girls  are  studying  in  five  hundred  Christian  schools 
of  the  intermediate  grade.  They  are  carrying  forward 


232  CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 

their  Chinese  and  Christian  studies  and  are  taking  up  the 
more  important  Western  studies  of  academic  grade. 
Probably  the  majority  of  these  students  have  already  be- 
gun the  study  of  the  English  language.  Five  thousand 
young  men  and  women  are  studying  in  thirty  Christian 
colleges.  They  are  studying  Chinese  history  and  litera- 
ture, and  are  learning  to  compose  in  the  literary  form. 
They  are  studying  ethics  and  psychology,  political  sci- 
ence and  international  law,  mathematics  and  physical  sci- 
ence. The  knowledge  of  English  is  being  increasingly 
emphasized  in  Christian  schools,  and  probably  one-half 
of  the  students  in  these  schools  are  acquiring  Western 
learning  through  its  medium. 

Christian  education  had  operated  as  a leaven  in  the 
life  of  China  for  a full  generation  before  the  general  ed- 
ucational awakening  set  in,  so  that  now  the  Chinese  Gov- 
ernment, while  in  no  mood  to  acknowledge  indebtedness 
for  the  new  learning  to  the  Christian  church,  does  so  in- 
directly by  levying  heavy  tribute  upon  Christian  schools 
for  its  most  competent  teachers. 

Missionaries  in  China  especially  engaged  in  education 
have  organized  themselves  into  an  Educational  Associa- 
tion, now  four  hundred  strong,  and  have  held  a series  of 
triennial  conferences  with  papers  and  discussions  on  ed- 
ucational themes.  These  papers  have  been  widely  read 
and  have  had  a far-reaching  influence.  One  important 
aim  of  this  Association  is  to  stimulate  the  production  of 
an  educational  literature  which  shall  be  sympathetic  with 
Christianity.  This  work  of  producing  worthy  text-books 
for  the  use  of  students  and  teachers,  while  it  will  never 
be  completed,  is  already  well  past  the  beginning  stage, 
and  the  new  secular  learning  of  China,  whether  or  not 
it  make  due  acknowledgment,  is  indebted  to  the  mis- 
sionaries for  the  pioneer  work  in  making  Western  learn- 
ing accessible  to  Chinese  youth  in  the  use  of  the  Chinese 


THE  NEW  LEARNING  OF  CHINA  233 


language.  The  work  of  making  the  Chinese  language 
give  adequate  expression  to  Western  thought  throughout 
its  wide  range  of  learning  is  confessedly  one  of  much 
difficulty.  It  requires  a high  order  of  scholarship  to 
rightly  combine  characters  to  give  expression  to  the  de- 
sired thought.  In  this  work  the  missionaries  are  exert- 
ing a formative  influence,  and  the  Chinese  Board  of  Ed- 
ucation will  do  well  to  give  respect  to  their  contribution 
to  the  new  terminology. 

There  is  another  line  of  influence  of  great  educational 
value  through  the  awakening  literature  missionaries 
have  produced  and  widely  circulated  among  the  officials 
and  people.  Drs.  Williamson,  Richard,  Allen  and  Fa- 
ber have  been  pioneers  in  this  work,  and  many  others 
have  contributed  to  it.  Through  books,  magazines,  pa- 
pers and  leaflets  they  are  teaching  history,  science,  ethics, 
religion.  They  have  discussed  social  and  political  prob- 
lems, and  in  many  ways  have  opened  up  to  the  Chinese 
mind  new  treasures  of  knowledge,  and  quickened  in  them 
a hunger  for  things  concerning  which  they  were  wholly 
ignorant  in  the  past. 

We  have  above  enumerated  as  contributing  to  the  edu- 
cational awakening  of  China  ( i ) , the  superior  military 
power  of  the  Western  w'orld ; (2),  political  intercourse; 
(3),  Chinese  students  returning  from  abroad  with  West- 
ern education;  (4),  mercantile  intercourse;  (5),  the 
Western  methods  for  the  material  improvement  of  the 
conditions  of  life;  (6),  the  medical  practice  of  foreign 
physicians;  (7),  the  influence  of  the  new  life  of  Japan 
upon  China;  (8),  the  influence  of  Christian  education. 
These  influences  operating  for  the  past  two  generations 
upon  the  political  and  social  life  of  China  are  sufficient 
to  account  for  the  new  educational  awakening.  It  is 
important  to  note  that  these  influences  have  been  per- 
vasive and  cumulative.  They  have  operated  on  all 


234 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


classes  and  conditions  of  society.  The  new  learning  has 
not  first  been  accepted  and  set  in  order  by  the  head,  the 
Chinese  Government,  to  be  imitated  later  by  the  members, 
the  various  strata  of  society.  Rather  have  these  in- 
fluences operated  first  upon  the  members,  and  later 
through  the  members  upon  the  head.  The  majority  of 
the  officers  of  government  are  the  product  of  the  learn- 
ing of  the  past,  and  they  have  been  literally  beaten  into 
a reluctant  recognition  of  the  value  of  Western  learning 
by  the  new  conditions  thrust  upon  China,  and  by  the  din 
and  concussion  of  new  ideas.  This  explains  why  the 
new  learning  seems  to  be  haphazard  in  its  inception,  to 
be  superficial  in  its  scope  and  to  be  lacking  in  wise  leader- 
ship. Schools  rise  and  disappear  like  mushrooms  with- 
out provision  for  their  permanent  support.  Every 
viceroy  and  governor,  indeed  every  official  of  the  rank 
of  Tio  T’ai  and  above,  must  be  a patron  of  this  learning 
to  meet  the  public  demand.  Thus  they  are  developing 
university  schemes  and  erecting  buildings  in  nearly  every 
provincial  capital  before  they  have  produced  teachers  to 
give  instruction,  or  qualified  students  to  receive  instruc- 
tion. But  it  would  be  false  to  represent  everything  as 
still  in  a superficial  and  haphazard  stage.  Not  all  in- 
terested in  the  new  education  are  beginning  at  the  ridge- 
pole and  building  downward.  More  and  more  per- 
manent beginnings  are  being  made  in  real  education,  in 
multiplying  primary  and  intermediate  schools  as  fast  as 
school-rooms  can  be  provided  and  proper  teachers  se- 
cured. Already  many  of  the  Government  schools  have 
passed  the  experimental  stage,  and  from  this  time  the 
quality  of  teaching  promises  to  steadily  improve.  It  is 
to  be  regretted  that  the  Chinese  are  seriously  retarding 
their  educational  progress  by  too  often  placing  imper- 
fectly equipped  native  or  Japanese  teachers  in  responsible 
positions,  when  by  a more  liberal  policy  they  might  secure 


THE  NEW  LEARNING  OF  CHINA  235 


competent  teachers  from  Europe  and  America  to  set 
for  them  a much-needed  standard  of  thoroughness  in 
their  educational  work. 

In  the  Boxer  uprising  of  1900,  the  attempt  was  made 
to  cast  out  of  mind  and  sight  all  Western  thoughts  and 
things,  and  continue  to  live  on  in  the  old  order  of  life,  un- 
disturbed by  the  events  of  the  outside  world.  Following 
the  collapse  of  this  mad  effort,  two  years  later  there 
spread  a wave  of  interest  both  in  the  results  and  in  the 
methods  of  Western  learning.  Here  we  contemplate  two 
movements  in  mutual  antagonism,  and  yet  they  are  not 
without  a causal  relationship.  Many  of  the  leaders  of 
China  thought  something  as  follows;  “If  Western 
learning  has  hidden  in  it  power  that  we  cannot  contend 
against,  and  will  ultimately  crush  us  if  we  continue  in 
our  old  social  status,  we  must  master  that  learning  that 
we  may  wield  the  new  power  for  our  own  protection.” 
That  this  was  the  exclusive  motive  in  the  new  movement, 
or  that  it  is  still  dominant  in  the  thoughts  of  educational 
leaders,  we  neither  assert  nor  believe,  but  we  are  con- 
fident that  it  was  powerfully  active  in  inaugurating  the 
new  movement.  As  the  youth  of  China  drink  more  and 
more  deeply  at  the  fountains  of  the  new  learning  they 
will  more  and  more  value  it  for  itself,  for  its  new  out- 
look upon  life,  and  for  the  pure  delight  of  knowledge. 

We  noted  above  that  this  educational  movement  has 
thus  far  lacked  in  efficient  guidance,  but  the  spontaneity 
of  the  movement  makes  for  expansion  and  permanency. 
A new  order  of  learning  destined  to  revolutionize  social 
conditions  must  at  first  be  but  superficially  contemplated, 
fragments  of  knowledge  must  be  gained  as  to  its  scope 
and  utility,  and  these  fragments  as  they  multiply  become 
inspiring  thoughts,  a necessary  preparation  for  the  ad- 
vanced movement.  Thirty  years  ago  Chinese  scholars 
were  well  nigh  deaf  listeners  when  one  undertook  to  talk 


236  CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 

with  them  as  to  any  department  in  the  wide  range  of 
Western  learning.  They  had  no  basis  of  knowledge  to 
be  able  to  listen  intelligently  to  what  was  told  them. 
One  “ nibbler  ” after  Western  learning  once  asked  me 
as  to  the  latitude  and  longitude  of  the  source  of 
the  Yellow  River.  The  questioner  had  no  notion  of  the 
meaning  of  the  learned  terms  he  had  picked  up,  and  when 
an  answer  was  attempted  he  replied : “ But  how'  about 

the  traditional  teaching  that  the  Yellow  River  has  its 
source  in  the  Milky  Way  (‘The  Heavenly  River’)  and 
flowing  to  the  East  .again  pours  its  waters  into  the  Milky 
Way?”  A Chinese  astronomer  accepted  the  Copernican 
theory  of  the  revolution  of  the  earth  around  the  sun,  but 
made  an  addition  to  that  theory  wdiich  he  regarded  of 
vital  importance.  “ The  earth  is  surrounded  by  a sphere 
of  ‘ Ch’i  ’ (primordial  matter),  and  this  sphere  of 
‘ Ch’i  ’ with  the  earth  as  a hub  rolls  on  the  floor  of  the 
Universe,  and  so  is  kept  in  its  orderly  circuit ! ” We 
now  meet  in  increasing  numbers  an  advanced  type  of 
scholars,  men  who  can  talk  with  you  intelligently  on  a 
considerable  range  of  Western  subjects  of  knowledge. 
A Tao  T’ai  from  his  general  reading  talked  with  the 
speaker  on  social  science,  and  spoke  of  the  teachings  of 
John  Stuart  Mill  on  this  subject.  Chinese  periodicals 
are  being  multiplied  which  scatter  a wide  range  of  in- 
formation as  to  Western  thought  and  themes,  and  are 
slowly  leavening  the  thought  of  the  people.  That  which 
has  found  a superficial  lodgment  in  the  minds  of  the 
leaders  of  thought  is  certain  through  their  encourage- 
ment to  find  a fuller  lodgment  in  the  minds  of  their 
children,  and  so  later  of  the  youth  of  China. 

But  we  would  not  give  the  impression  that  the  Chinese 
Government  is  not  putting  forth  serious  effort  to  have 
a guiding  hand  in  instituting  the  new  learning  in  China. 
The  abolition  in  1905  by  Imperial  Edict  of  the  old  order 


THE  NEW  LEARNING  OF  CHINA  237 


of  provincial  and  local  examinations,  and  substituting  in 
place  the  Western  system  of  examinations,  was  a radical 
step  of  far-reaching  consequence,  as  it  not  only  intro- 
duces new  methods  of  education,  but  adds  a new  con- 
tent to  such  education.  From  ancient  times  the  Chinese 
people  have  regarded  the  supervision  of  the  work  of 
education  as  an  important  function  of  government,  and 
with  only  occasional  exceptions  men  of  learning  have 
been  leaders  in  the  administration  of  government.  A 
new  Board  of  Education  has  been  established  in  Peking 
whose  important  duty  it  is  to  unify  and  supervise  the 
education  of  China.  This  Board  is  not  yet  composed  of 
men  who  are  masters  of  the  new  learning,  but  more  and 
more  they  are  commanding  the  help  of  such  men.  Al- 
ready they  have  proposed  in  outline  a great  national 
scheme  of  education.  Children  under  seven  are  to  be 
given  their  training  in  kindergartens,  followed  by  lower 
and  upper  primary  schools.  These  schools  in  theory 
must  be  provided  by  the  Government  throughout  China 
in  sufficient  numbers  to  accommodate  the  needs  of 
students.  Intermediate  schools  are  being  opened  in  pre- 
fectural  cities.  Colleges  are  being  established  in  each  of 
the  provincial  capitals.  A university  is  to  be  organized 
in  Peking,  at  the  outset  to  teach  engineering,  law, 
political  science,  pedagogy,  etc.,  and  to  advance  the  range 
of  studies  to  meet  conditions  as  they  develop.  The 
Board  has  designated  Bureaus  to  supervise  specific  de- 
partments of  learning,  to  be  in  charge  of  men  of  special 
training.  Several  important  special  examinations  have 
been  held  in  Peking  in  which  students  holding  diplomas 
from  Western  colleges  and  universities  have  been 
awarded  high  literary  degrees.  These  examinations  have 
proved  creditable  to  both  examiners  and  students,  show- 
ing as  they  do  that  the  Chinese  Government  is  beginning 
to  command  the  service  of  men  of  a high  order  of  attain- 


238  CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


ment  in  Western  learning.  Provincial  superintendents  of 
education  are  also  appointed  who,  along  with  viceroys 
and  governors,  are  active  in  developing  schools  of  the 
various  grades.  These  men  in  turn  appoint  examiners 
to  give  diplomas  to  student  graduates,  and,  in  general,  to 
advance  the  standard  of  education. 

A movement  is  in  preparation  to  establish  in  Peking 
a depot  of  educational  supplies — text-books,  maps,  ap- 
paratus, etc.,  for  the  use  of  schools.  Similar  depots 
are  being  built  up  in  provincial  capitals.  In  Tientsin, 
and  doubtless  in  other  centers,  a large  building  is  devoted 
to  an  educational  exhibit,  a sort  of  educational  informa- 
tion bureau,  where  both  information  and  assistance  are 
given  in  securing  needed  books  and  other  supplies. 

This  educational  activity  on  the  part  of  the  Govern- 
ment is  greatly  assisted  by  the  activity  of  individuals. 
Many  of  the  officials  contribute  of  their  own  means,  or 
from  some  source  of  income,  to  establish  schools  of 
primary  or  secondary  grade.  In  these  secondary  schools 
English  must  always  have  a place,  though  too  often  it  is 
taught  by  men  with  only  a smattering  of  knowledge. 
Many  of  these  schools  without  a permanent  source  of  sup- 
port have  a rather  precarious  existence,  but  they  bear  wit- 
ness to  the  spirit  of  the  new  times,  and  prepare  the  way 
for  more  permanent  schools.  Many  men  of  means,  not 
officials,  are  founding  schools  as  witnesses  to  their  sym- 
pathy with  the  new  movement.  One  such  school  built 
up  by  Mr.  Chang  Po  Ling  in  Tientsin  deserves  special 
mention,  since  it  is  typical  of  a class  of  schools  certain 
to  increase  in  China.  He  has  built  up  a school  of  the 
secondary  grade  with  three  hundred  pupils.  The  in- 
struction given  bears  creditable  comparison  with  the 
instruction  given  in  the  best  grade  of  mission  schools. 
Mr.  Chang,  though  related  to  the  highest  rank  of  officials, 
has  united  with  the  Christian  Church,  and  freely  urges 


THE  NEW  LEARNING  OF  CHINA  239 


the  need  of  Christian  ethics  for  the  right  regulation  of 
conduct. 

The  strength  of  this  new  educational  movement  is 
strikingly  witnessed  to  by  the  School  of  Nobles  now 
established  in  Peking.  It  includes  both  Chinese  and 
Western  lines  of  study,  and  is  almost  military  in  its 
regulations.  Prince  Ch’un,  the  present  Regent  of  China, 
was  a pupil  in  this  school.  His  seat  is  still  preserved 
in  its  place  and  the  head  instructor  visits  him  from  time 
to  time  to  discourse  to  him  on  problems  of  government. 

The  influence  of  the  Commercial  Press  of  Shanghai 
upon  the  new  learning  of  China  is  deserving  of  special 
mention.  This  is  an  enterprise  conducted  wholly  by  the 
Chinese  and  for  commercial  ends,  but  the  proprietors 
have  shown  a correct  judgment  of  the  demands  of  the 
times,  and  have  given  to  the  public  an  abundant  and 
varied  educational  literature,  which  has  been  steadily 
absorbed  by  the  wide  demand,  and  has  rewarded  their 
enterprise  with  great  prosperity.  It  is  interesting  to  note 
that  the  new  demands  are  not  exclusively  for  helps  in 
acquiring  Western  learning.  Many  new  books  are  ap- 
pearing setting  forth  better  methods  for  learning  the 
Chinese  language  and  mastering  the  ancient  literature. 
The  suggestion  is  often  heard  that  the  Chinese  would 
some  day  set  aside  their  language  as  cumbersome  and 
effete,  and  adopt  some  Western  language,  but  it  is  a sug- 
gestion made  in  ignorance  of  the  Chinese  people  and 
of  the  power  of  growth  and  adaptation  hidden  in  their 
language.  It  is,  however,  important  in  adding  a vast 
range  of  new  learning  to  their  course  of  study  that  better 
methods  should  be  devised  for  mastering  their  language. 
In  this  as  in  other  things  it  has  needed  the  sharp  con- 
cussion of  Western  thought  to  push  the  Chinese  out  of 
their  deep  traditional  ruts  and  lead  them  to  the  discovery 
of  new  and  better  methods  of  study. 


240  CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 

Perhaps  nothing  proves  more  emphatically  the  radical 
nature  of  this  educational  awakening  than  the  new  in- 
terest in  the  education  of  women.  In  the  old  order  of 
society,  women  were  not  the  companions  of  men  on  terms 
of  equality.  Possibly  one  or  two  per  cent,  of  the 
women  could  read  and  write,  but  the  wife  is  called  “ the 
inside  man,”  and  education  is  thought  to  have  for  her 
no  manifest  value,  indeed  may  prove  an  element  of  un- 
rest and  disturbance.  No  thought  was  given  to  educa- 
tion for  the  value  of  knowledge  in  itself,  and  the  new 
springs  of  happiness  thus  opened  up  to  give  quality  to 
life.  But  China  has  been  profoundly  impressed  with 
the  educated  Western  woman,  not  a toy  in  her  husband’s 
household,  not  a servant,  but  a companion  standing  by 
his  side  in  their  varied  social  relations,  and  an  intelli- 
gent mother  to  her  children.  Already  the  new  Chinese 
woman  is  beginning  to  appear,  a true  sister  to  the  West- 
ern woman.  She  has,  perhaps,  been  educated  in  some 
mission  school,  or  has  returned  with  a yet  wider  educa- 
tion from  Europe  or  America.  Such  women — as  yet  all 
too  few — are  in  demand  as  leaders  in  the  new  education 
for  women.  In  Peking  and  in  many  other  cities  the  at- 
tention of  the  visitor  is  attracted  to  groups  of  students 
in  modest  students’  uniforms  going  to  and  from  their 
various  schools,  and  you  note  that  many  of  these  students 
are  girls  and  young  women.  A delightful  description 
has  just  come  to  hand  of  the  graduation  exercises  in  a 
kindergarten  school  in  Peking,  in  which  a flock  of  forty 
little  people  went  through  with  faultless  accuracy  their 
prescribed  evolutions  and  received  their  diplomas.  This 
school  was  founded  by  high  Chinese  officials,  the  Prince 
Regent  being  the  largest  giver.  Truly  a new  day  has 
dawned  on  China  when  such  things  are  accomplished  by 
the  Chinese  of  their  own  initiative. 

In  attempting  to  speak  on  the  theme  of  the  New  Edu- 


THE  NEW  LEARNING  OF  CHINA  241 


cation  in  China,  I had  no  hope  of  doing  more  than  to 
give  an  outline  impression  of  the  vast  movement  now 
setting  in  and  gathering  force  on  every  hand.  This 
movement  is  destined  more  and  more  to  be  fed  from  the 
springs  of  Western  learning.  Chinese  students  are  go- 
ing abroad  in  increasing  numbers  to  Japan,  to  America, 
to  Europe,  to  return  in  due  time  to  become  educational 
leaders  among  their  countrymen.  I have  recently 
learned  an  interesting  fact,  that  fifty  Chinese  students 
born  in  Hawaii  are  now  studying  in  colleges  in  Shanghai, 
Nanking  and  Wuch’ang,  to  fit  themselves  for  a life 
career  among  their  own  people.  This  new  type  of 
leaven  in  the  old  lump  is  certain  to  increase.  Again, 
Western  institutions  of  learning  are  awakening  to  the 
opportunity  now  presented  to  give  a helping  hand  in 
this  Chinese  educational  renaissance.  O.xford  and  Cam- 
bridge in  England,  and  Chicago  University  in  America, 
are  already  maturing  plans  to  give  efficient  assistance. 
Yale  has  an  incipient  university  setting  itself  in  order 
in  the  heart  of  China,  and  other  universities  are  moving 
in  the  same  direction.  We  are  at  the  beginning  of  a 
movement  of  unprecedented  promise  for  China  and  for 
the  world. 

The  interests  of  truth  compel  me  to  add  in  conclusion, 
that  there  is  a serious  danger  lurking  in  the  new  educa- 
tion of  China  as  it  is  taking  form.  Education  has  its 
highest  ends  not  in  knowledge,  but  in  character,  not  in 
ability  to  master  the  forces  of  nature,  but  the  forces  of 
the  human  passions  and  aflfections.  Thus  far  the 
majority  of  Chinese  students  desire  to  acquire  Western 
learning  for  the  sake  of  the  power  it  will  give  in  better- 
ing the  external  conditions  of  life,  and  slight  thought  is 
given  to  the  acquisition  of  moral  power  to  improve  the 
internal  order  of  their  life,  also.  I have  already 
expressed  high  appreciation  of  the  ethical  thought 


242  CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 

embodied  in  the  teachings  of  the  sages  of  China.  These 
teachings  have  been  the  great  conserving  power  in 
Chinese  civilization  for  three  thousand  years,  and  yet 
they  have  lacked  dynamic  force  to  make  them  more  than 
partially  realized  in  society.  In  China — probably  not  less 
than  in  other  non-Christian  countries — there  is  a sad  di- 
vorce between  knowledge  and  conduct.  Ideal  conduct  is 
everywhere  praised,  but  social  habit  moves  along  a dis- 
tinctly lower  plane,  and  hides  much  that  is  evil  under  a 
cover  of  conformity  to  custom.  In  the  old  order  of  society, 
students  lived  for  the  most  part  at  home,  and  were  taught 
in  small  schools  by  local  teachers.  Under  these  condi- 
tions, moral  restraints  were  at  their  maximum,  and  the 
foundations  of  a self-respecting  manhood  were  laid. 
But  in  the  government  schools  not  only  does  the  new 
learning  come  to  the  pupils  carefully  divorced  from 
Christian  ethical  or  religious  teaching,  but  Confucian 
learning  in  the  thought  of  both  teachers  and  pupils  oc- 
cupies a secondary  place.  Students  with  undeveloped 
characters  are  separated  from  their  homes,  are  thrown 
into  a promiscuous  companionship,  with  temptations  to 
evil  lurking  on  every  hand,  resulting  too  often  in  moral 
degeneracy.  This  has  been  the  painful  outcome  of  the 
flocking  of  Chinese  students  by  thousands  to  Japan.  The 
Chinese  Government  has  been  justly  alarmed  at  the  out- 
put of  education  under  such  conditions,  but  it  is  not  yet 
alive  to  the  evils  hidden  in  the  new  government  system 
of  education. 

The  Christian  Church  believes  that  it  can  give  to  the 
youth  of  China  an  education  that  supplies  the  lacking 
ethical  element,  that  it  cannot  only  set  before  Chinese 
pupils  the  right  ideals  of  conduct,  in  many  of  which  the 
teachings  of  Confucius  and  Christ  are  in  essential  agree- 
ment, but  can  present  in  Christian  teachers  examples  of 
men  and  women  who  are  living  toward  these  ideals  in 


THE  NEW  LEARNING  OF  CHINA  243 


their  life  relations.  Mr.  Chang  Po  Ling,  above  spoken 
of,  recently  presented  a copy  of  the  New  Testament  to  a 
friend  belonging  to  the  Board  of  Education,  and  added 
the  remark : “ This  is  the  only  hope  of  China.” 

The  superior  ethical  element  in  Christian  education  is 
widely  recognized  by  non-Christian  Chinese,  and  yet  their 
valuation  is  superficial  and  inadequate,  so  that  in  spite 
of  the  failure  of  Confucian  ethics  to  build  up  robust 
moral  character,  they  cling  to  the  traditional  estimate  of 
its  value,  with  a pervasive  suspicion  that,  notwithstand- 
ing the  high  ethical  standard  in  Christian  education, 
there  is  hidden  in  it  a lurking  element  of  danger.  It 
gives  expression  to  the  moral  thought  and  erects  the 
standard  of  living  of  an  outside  civilization,  which 
threaten  to  overturn  their  old  system  of  thought  and 
transform  the  old  ideals  of  life.  It  is  true  that  Christian 
ethics  is  destined  to  work  great  changes  in  the  Eastern 
world,  as  it  has  already  wrought  in  the  Western  world. 
The  spirit  of  Christianity  is  that  of  benevolent  aggres- 
sion. It  does  not  cease  in  its  efforts  to  do  good  by 
reason  of  encountering  mere  indifference  or  opposition. 
Christian  education  in  China,  though  a generation  in  ad- 
vance of  the  new  government  education,  is  still  in  its 
initial  stage,  and  its  influence  is  certain  to  be  vastly  wid- 
ened and  deepened  in  the  near  future,  if  the  educational 
work  now  begun  is  allowed  to  have  its  normal  develop- 
ment. Christian  men  and  women  will  more  and  more 
occupy  positions  of  influence  in  the  various  orders  of 
society,  and  Christian  ideals  of  life  will  increasingly  as- 
sert themselves. 

We  have  been  in  the  habit  of  thinking  that  great 
political  and  social  changes  require  long  periods  for  their 
accomplishment,  and  this  has  been  true  in  past  history, 
but  we  need  to  remind  ourselves  and  give  emphasis  to  the 
thought,  that  in  this  age  of  steam  and  electricity,  of  swift 


244 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


and  easy  intercommunication,  political  and  social  changes 
move  at  an  equally  rapid  pace  with  physical  changes. 
The  great  thoughts  of  individual  rights,  of  liberty,  of 
reciprocity,  of  giving  to  others  for  the  enrichment  of  the 
common  life,  required  in  the  Western  world  many  cen- 
turies of  conflict  before  they  were  permitted  to  take  their 
place  as  motive-forces  in  society ; but  these  thoughts  are 
already  well  advanced  in  securing  acceptance  in  China — 
at  least  as  a theory  of  human  rights  and  duties.  China 
may  yet  for  a brief  period  continue  to  misunderstand  the 
altruistic  motives  in  Christian  education,  to  treat  her 
own  sons  and  daughters  as  semi-aliens  because  they  have 
committed  the  offense  of  choosing  for  themselves  the 
better  things  of  the  Christian  faith,  but  this  period  will 
swiftly  pass,  and  the  Chinese  will  learn  that  the  hand 
of  help  in  educational,  social  and  political  renovation 
stretched  out  to  her  from  Christian  lands  is  a hand  that 
is  directed  by  the  same  beneficent  Spirit  that  wrought  in 
the  teachings  of  the  sages,  and  is  together  with  those 
teachings  the  gift  of  Heaven  to  this  people. 

All  who  have  wrought  for  the  Chinese  believe  in  their 
race  capacity.  They  will,  with  proper  training  and  ex- 
perience, match  the  Anglo-Saxon  at  his  best  in  the  varied 
activities  of  life.  They  have  the  instincts  for  law,  for 
order,  in  the  family,  in  society,  in  government,  that  only 
need  to  be  strengthened  and  directed  by  steady  moral 
purpose,  to  make  of  them  a great  industrial,  intellectual 
and  moral  force  in  the  world,  making  returns  a hundred 
fold  to  Western  nations  for  the  help  they  have  extended 
to  China  in  this  period  of  adjustment  to  the  new  and 
better  order  of  life  opening  up  before  its  people. 


XIV 


THE  HISTORY  OF  CHRISTIAN  MISSIONS  IN 

CHINA 

Factors  entering  into  the  uplift  of  that  fourth  of  the 
human  race  resident  in  China  cannot  fail  to  interest  every 
broad-minded  man  and  woman.  As  the  discussions  of 
the  past  few  days  have  made  very  evident,  the  increments 
of  recent  progress  in  the  Far  East  are  manifold  and  have 
affected  different  peoples  variously.  It  would  be  most 
profitable  to  study  the  comparative  influence  exerted  by 
all  those  external  forces  and  ideas  affecting  a given 
nation — the  Chinese,  for  example — which  during  the  last 
half  century  in  particular  have  so  largely  reshaped  the 
Orient.  Time  limitations  make  this  impossible  even  when 
our  thought  is  concentrated  upon  a single  empire,  so 
that  only  incidental  references  to  politics,  commerce,  etc., 
will  be  made  in  our  treatment  of  China  this  morning. 
This  preliminary  word  is  intended  as  a warning  against 
a prevalent  tendency  among  Christian  people  interested 
in  missions  to  suppose  that  the  only  forces  entering  into 
the  national  regeneration  of  China  are  those  exerted  by 
godly  and  energetic  missionaries.  Even  more  prevalent 
among  Protestants  who  have  heard  much  about  the  cen- 
tenary of  Morrison’s  arrival  in  China,  celebrated  so 
profitably  in  1907,  is  the  impression  that  all  the  religious 
progress  of  the  past  century  is  the  sole  result  of  Prot- 
estant labors.  If  we  would  know  the  truth  as  to  this 
supposition,  we  ought  to  be  catholic  enough  to  ask  what 
all  the  branches  of  the  Christian  Church — Nestorian, 
Roman,  and  Greco-Russian,  as  well  as  Protestant — have 


245 


246 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


accomplished  and,  except  in  the  case  of  Nestorianism, 
are  accomplishing  to-day  for  the  social,  mental,  and  reli- 
gious betterment  of  China’s  more  than  400,000,000  in- 
habitants. 


Manichaeans  in  China 

Little  need  be  said  concerning  this  stadium  of  Chris- 
tianity in  China.  Still  less  shall  I say  of  those  traditional 
labors  of  earlier  apostles  in  the  Land  of  Sinim.  Stories 
of  St.  Thomas,  the  doubter,  have  been  an  interrogation 
point  in  Christianity’s  Asiatic  traditions,  both  in  India 
and  China.  We  may  dismiss  those  referring  to  his 
preaching  in  the  latter  country  as  groundless,  even  if 
any  should  be  disposed  to  give  credence  to  the  Indian 
traditions.  Within  three  centuries  of  our  Saviour’s  as- 
cension, Arnobius  speaks  of  Christian  deeds  done  among 
the  Seres,  which  may  be  those  of  Christian  missionaries 
in  China.  More  probable  are  the  traditions  as  to  the 
propagation  of  a heretical  form  of  Christianity  by  Mani, 
also  in  the  third  century.  Before  Manichaeus  had  been 
crucified  and  flayed  alive  in  276  of  our  era — we  follow 
the  Oriental  account  of  Mani,  rather  than  the  less  trust- 
worthy Western  traditions — he  had  in  all  probability 
carried  his  eclectic  faith,  quite  as  much  Chaldeism  and 
Buddhism  as  Christianity,  to  the  confines  of  China,  north 
of  Turkestan.  Here  it  was  that  in  his  rock  cave,  whose 
rough  walls  he  adorned  with  mural  paintings,  he  gained 
his  name  of  Mani,  the  artist  or  painter.  Whether  his 
stufifed  skin,  hung  in  terrorem  over  the  gates  of  Per- 
sepolis,  had  a neutralizing  effect  upon  his  Far  Eastern 
preaching  or  not,  the  fact  remains  that  though  in  500  a.d. 
the  Manichaeans  were  found  in  Hsi-an  Fu  and  later  had 
temples  in  that  city,  in  Ho-nan  Fu,  Tai-yiian  Fu,  and 
Ningpo,  their  beliefs  had  little  influence  upon  the 
Chinese.  To-day  no  trace  apparently  remains,  though 


HISTORY  OF  CHRISTIAN  MISSIONS  247 


some  * hold  that  their  doctrines  arc  the  root  whence 
sprang  the  White  Lotus  sect,  whose  members  arc  so 
obstinate  even  now  in  adhering  to  their  religious  faith. 
More  certain  is  it  • that  Manichacism  entered  materially 
into  that  form  of  Buddhism  carried  back  to  Japan  by 
one  of  her  most  famous  sons,  the  supreme  teacher. 
Kobo  Daishi,  whose  body  after  many  centuries  is  sup- 
posed to  rest  in  dreamless  trance  beneath  the  hazy  sum- 
mit of  beautiful  Koya  San. 


N estorianism  in  the  Empire 

Nestorian  influence  in  China  may  be  more  accurately 
traced.  In  a proclamation  of  the  real,  not  nominal, 
founder  of  the  glorious  T’ang  dynasty,  dated  the  seventh 
moon  of  638,  we  read : “ Tao  has  no  constant  name, 

holiness  no  constant  form ; cults  are  established  accord- 
ing to  place  for  the  unobtrusive  salvation  of  the  masses. 
The  Persian  bonze  Alopen  has  come  from  afar  to  sub- 
mit to  Us  at  Our  capital  his  scriptural  cult.  Examin- 
ing closely  into  the  significance  of  that  cult.  We  find  it 
transcendental  and  quiescent ; that  it  represents  and  sets 
forth  the  most  important  principles  of  our  being,  just  as 
much  as  it  tends  to  the  salvation  and  profit  of  mankind. 
It  may  well  be  carried  over  the  Empire.  The  executive 
will  therefore  forthwith  erect  in  the  I-ning  ward  of  the 
city  a monastery,  with  twenty-one  qualified  priests.”  ® 
A tolerably  full  account  of  the  entrance  and  fortunes  of 
the  new  faith,  known  in  China  as  the  Ta  Ch’in  Ching 
Chiao,  the  Great  Western  Illustrious  Religion,  or 

^ See,  for  example,  Richard,  Conversion  by  the  Million,  Vol. 
II.,  p.  120. 

- See  Prof.  Lloyd  in  Transactions  of  the  Asiatic  Society  of 
Japan,  Vol.  XXXV,  Part  II.,  pp.  193-211. 

3 Parker,  China  and  Religion,  p.  121. 


248 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


Church,  is  found  on  this  same  coarse  marble  monument 
— possibly  the  oldest  Christian  inscription  in  Asia — from 
which  the  proclamation  has  just  been  quoted. 

Though  erected  in  the  year  781,  its  record  goes  back 
to  635,  the  time  of  Alopen’s  arrival  at  the  Chinese  capital 
of  Hsi-an  Fu.  We  thus  have  here  one  hundred  and  fifty 
years  of  Nestorianism’s  authenticated  history.  It  would 
appear  that  in  the  eighth  century,  the  Illustrious  Religion 
had  been  preached  in  ten  of  China’s  provinces  and  that 
Imperial  favor  had  been  frequent  and  helpful.  Indeed, 
like  the  early  Jesuit  propaganda,  the  attempt  seems  to 
have  been  made  to  gain  royal  favor  rather  than  to  win 
the  masses  to  the  new  faith.  In  order  to  conciliate  the 
higher  classes,  their  statement  of  doctrine  was  very  diplo- 
matic. The  British  Sinologue,  Prof.  Parker,  of  Victoria 
University,  Manchester,  writes : * “It  will  be  noticed 
that  no  stress  is  laid  upon  damnation,  the  sacraments, 
confession,  repentance,  the  sanctity  of  marriage  rites,  the 
immaculate  conception,  the  crucifixion,  passion,  resur- 
rection, life  everlasting,  and  many  other  things  in- 
separable from  the  belief  of  most  Christians  of  the  pres- 
ent day.  Of  course  it  is  very  possible  that  King-tsing 
[Ching®  Ching^],  the  author  of  the  inscription,  en- 
deavored to  compose  a record  which  would  not  shock 
Confucian  prejudices  more  than  was  absolutely  neces- 
sary, and  that  he  may  have  deliberately  chosen  to  state 
only  half  the  truth,  leaving  out  all  dogmas  involving  ap- 
parent departure  from  the  ordinary  course  of  nature. 
It  is  also  likely  that,  as  he  was  bound — in  the  absence  of 
any  other  ready-made  phraseology — to  draw  upon  Taoist 
and  Buddhist  terms,  he  felt  it  prudent  to  avail  himself 
also  of  accepted  Taoist  and  Buddhist  ideas,  so  far  as 
they  did  not  clash  with  his  own  teachings.  Even  Mani- 
chaeism  is,  or  seems  to  be,  conciliated.” 

* China  and  Religion,  pp.  125,  126. 


HISTORY  OF  CHRISTIAN  MISSIONS  249 

In  this  ecclesiastical  diplomacy,  some  writers  find  a 
partial  explanation  of  Nestorianism’s  failure  to  widely 
influence  the  Chinese  people.  One  of  them,  Dr.  George 
Smith,  who  represents  a totally  different  school  from 
that  to  which  Prof.  Parker  belongs,  expresses  his  deep 
conviction  in  these  words : ® “ While  Pantaenus  stands 

at  the  head  of  the  evangelicalism  which  has  ever  since 
carried  to  Asia  the  missionar}'  message  that  God  is  in 
Christ  reconciling  the  world  unto  Plimself,  Nestorius  is 
the  representative  of  those  who  preach  a Christ  who  is 
less  than  Divine,  and  who  have  therefore  ever  failed  to 
convert  mankind.  Nestorianism  became  such  a com- 
promise with  heathenism  as  led  to  Mohammed’s  teach- 
ings. . . . This  fact  of  compromise  must  be  re- 

membered when  we  proceed  to  look  at  the  otherwise 
bright  missionary  progress  of  Nestorian  Christianity  in 
Asia,  Central,  East,  and  South.” 

Doctrinal  accommodation  and  curtailment  do  not  alone 
explain  why  this  form  of  Christianity,  entering  China  in 
the  seventh  century,  gradually  fades  from  view,  until 
after  the  close  of  the  fourteenth  all  reference  to  it 
ceases.®  During  these  seven  and  a half  centuries,  the 
Chinese' Court  had  been  touched  with  the  Christian  in- 
fluence, fifteen  provinces  had  heard  the  word  of  God  in  a 
limited  way,  the  Bible  had  been  translated  in  part  at 
least,  and  the  lives  of  priests  and  ordinary  Christians  had 
been  so  comparatively  pure  that  even  in  Marco  Polo’s 
time  they  were  generally  respected.  Besides  propagat- 
ing a partial  view  of  Christianity,  what  they  had  failed 
to  accomplish,  was  to  make  no  earnest  effort  to  establish 
a self-propagating  church,  enter  into  no  determined 

® The  Conversion  of  India,  pp.  15,  16. 

® Cordier  says  (Catholic  Encyclopedia,  Vol.  III.,  p.  669),  that 
traces  of  them  were  found  by  the  Jesuits  at  the  beginning  of 
the  seventeenth  century. 


250  CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 

effort  to  teach  the  Bible  which  they  had  partially  trans- 
lated, and  taken  no  pains  to  educate  native  leaders.  On 
this  latter  point  a recent  writer  on  Nestorianism  in  China, 
Rev.  W.  S.  Walsh,  says  H “I  should  like  to  point  out 
one  other  cause  to  which  the  overthrow  of  the  work  may 
be  traced — I mean  the  neglect  of  school  work  and  the 
training  of  Chinese  pastors  and  teachers.  Nowhere 
have  I been  able  to  find  any  trace  of  Nestorian  Christian 
schools.  Marco  Polo  speaks  of  churches,  the  Nestorian 
inscription  tells  of  tonsured  monks  and  orderly  worship, 
and  had  there  been  a good  school  at  the  capital  or  else- 
where, we  may  almost  certainly  say  that  it  would  have 
been  mentioned.  But  no  effort  seems  to  have  been  made 
to  use  and  develop  the  Chinese  Christians  as  teachers, 
speakers,  doctors  or  pastors,  and  in  China  any  mission 
which  neglects  this  branch  of  the  work  is  foredoomed  to 
failure.”  It  is  but  fair  to  add,  that  had  the  Nestorian 
Church  been  open  to  none  of  these  criticisms,  it  would 
nevertheless  have  suffered  partial  if  not  entire  extinc- 
tion during  the  troublous  centuries,  when  owing  to 
Moslem  strength  in  Central  and  Western  Asia,  the 
Church  was  cut  off  from  supplies  and  men  that  could 
not  be  sent  from  the  home  base,  and  when  persecution 
and  Government  disfavor  blotted  out  the  early  and  suc- 
cessful work  of  the  Roman  Church  also,  which  had  en- 
tered the  China  field. 

Roman  Missions  and  Missionaries 

The  first  Christian  force  to  influence  China’s  religious 
life  permanently  proceeded  from  Rome.  It  was  in  that 
time  of  dreadful  fear,  occasioned  by  the  looming  up  on 
the  eastern  European  horizon  of  conquering  Mongol 
hordes,  that  Pope  Innocent  IV.  in  1245  dispatched  to  the 

T The  East  and  the  West,  April,  1909,  p.  217. 


HISTORY  OF  CHRISTIAN  MISSIONS  251 


Tartar  chieftain,  to  ascertain  his  intentions,  an  am- 
bassador, John  of  Plano  Carpini,  a Franciscan.  He  re- 
turned to  Avignon  from  the  Mongol  Capital  of  Kara- 
korum in  1247.  Though  another  Franciscan,  William 
of  Rubruck,  was  later  sent  to  the  Mongol  Court  by  St. 
Louis,  King  of  France,  the  real  founder  of  this  first 
Roman  mission  to  China  was  John  of  Montecorvino,  who 
reached  China  via  India  in  1292.  He  was  kindly  re- 
ceived by  the  great  Kublai  Khan — whose  mother  was  a 
Christian,  a niece  of  Prester  John — and  shortly  he  had 
erected  in  Peking  a church  “ which  had  a steeple  and 
belfry  with  three  bells  that  were  rung  every  hour  to 
summon  the  new  converts  to  prayer.”  ® Though  op- 
posed by  the  Nestorians,  at  the  end  of  eleven  years  he 
had  baptized  nearly  six  thousand  persons  “ and  bought 
one  hundred  and  fifty  children,  whom  he  instructed  in 
Greek  and  Latin  and  composed  for  them  several  devo- 
tional books.”  ® 

The  story  of  this  devoted  missionary  is  most  interest- 
ing. A hint  of  it  may  be  gained  from  an  extant  letter  of 
his  written  when  he  was  nearly  sixty.  “ It  is  now  twelve 
years,”  he  writes,  “ since  I have  heard  any  news  from 
the  West.  I am  become  old  and  gray-headed,  but  it  is 
rather  through  labors  and  tribulations  than  through  age, 
for  I am  only  fifty-eight  years  old.  I have  learned  the 
Tartar  language  and  literature,  into  which  I have  trans- 
lated the  whole  New  Testament  and  the  Psalms  of  David, 
and  have  caused  them  to  be  transcribed  with  the  utmost 
care.  I write  and  read  and  preach  openly  and  freely 
the  testimony  of  the  law  of  Christ.”  He  believed  in 
making  the  great  facts  of  Scripture  vivid  in  the  imagina- 

® Williams,  Middle  Kingdom,  Vol.  IL,  p.  287. 

® Quoted  by  Williams  from  The  Chinese  Repository,  Vol.  III., 
p.  1 12. 

Williams,  Middle  Kingdom,  Vol.  II.,  p.  288. 


252  CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 

tion  of  believers,  and  for  that  reason,  and  that  he  might 
“ captivate  the  eyes  of  the  barbarians,”  he  had  the  mys- 
teries of  the  Bible  pictured  in  all  his  churches.  It  is 
not  surprising  after  such  a life  to  read  in  one  of  the  old 
records  of  his  decease,  which  occurred  in  1328,^^  after 
he  had  converted  more  “ than  thirty  thousand  infidels,” 
that  “all  the  inhabitants  of  Cambaluc  [Peking],  without 
distinction,  mourned  for  the  man  of  God,  and  both 
Christians  and  pagans  were  present  at  the  funeral  cere- 
mony, the  latter  rending  their  garments  in  token  of  grief, 
. . . and  the  place  of  his  burial  became  a pil- 

grimage to  which  the  inhabitants  of  Cambaluc  resorted 
with  pious  eagerness.” 

Though  under  Montecorvino’s  successors  the  work 
was  continued  and  extended  as  far  south  as  the  province 
of  Fu-chien,  it  was  not  destined  to  continue.  With  the 
dissolution  of  the  Mongol  dynasty  and  the  accession 
of  the  Ming  emperors,  persecution  and  other  causes 
speedily  wiped  out  all  remnants  of  Roman  and  Nestorian 
Christianity,  so  that  Prof.  Parker  can  write : “ Dur- 

ing four-fifths  of  the  native  Ming  dynasty  (1368-1644), 
it  is  scarcely  an  exaggeration  to  say  that  the  very  idea 
of  ‘ Christian,’  not  to  say  the  word,  or  any  word  for  it, 
does  not  once  occur  in  the  Chinese  annals.” 

It  is  at  the  close  of  the  Ming  dynasty  that  Romanism’s 
second  and  very  successful  entrance  into  the  Empire  is 
recorded.  If,  as  the  French  savant.  Prof.  Cordier,  sug- 
gests,^* the  Dominican  friar,  Caspar  da  Cruz,  was  actu- 
ally the  first  modern  missionary  in  China,  where  he  re- 
mained but  a short  time,  it  was  the  Jesuits  under  Matteo 

Dr.  Hoffman  (Lives  of  the  Leaders  of  Our  Church  Uni- 
versal, p.  219),  says  in  1332. 

Williams,  Middle  Kingdom,  Vol.  II.,  p.  288. 

IS  China  and  Religion,  p.  189. 

The  Catholic  Encyclopedia,  Vol.  III.,  p.  670. 


HISTORY  OF  CHRISTIAN  MISSIONS  253 


Ricci  who  were  the  first  to  lay  a solid  foundation  for 
missions  in  the  Celestial  Empire,  thus  realizing  the  long- 
ing of  that  flaming  member  of  their  order,  Francis 
Xavier,  whose  wish  when  dying  on  the  threshold  of 
China  his  successor  Valignani  so  forcefully  voiced,  “ O, 
mighty  fortress ! when  shall  these  impenetrable  brazen 
gates  of  thine  be  broken  through  ? ” 

Arriving  in  China,  this  foremost  among  Roman  mis- 
sionaries “ for  skill,  perseverance,  learning,  and  tact,” 
gained  a foothold  on  the  mainland  in  1583.  But  Ricci 
was  not  content  to  remain  at  Chao-ch’ing  Fu,  even 
though  it  was  then  the  capital  of  the  “Two  Kuang  ” 
provinces.  The  Jesuits  had  besought  the  Governor  for 
permission  to  build  on  the  mainland  on  the  ground  that 
“ they  had  at  last  ascertained  with  their  own  eyes  that  the 
Celestial  Empire  was  even  superior  to  its  brilliant  re- 
nown. They  therefore  desired  to  end  their  days  in  it, 
and  wished  to  obtain  a little  land  to  construct  a house 
and  a church  where  they  might  pass  their  time  in  prayer 
and  study,  in  solitude  and  meditation.”  Ricci  was 
more  ambitious  than  his  comrades  and  would  rest  con- 
tent with  nothing  less  than  the  Imperial  city  and  the 
Dragon  Throne.  That  vision  was  finally  realized  for 
permanent  residence  during  the  first  year  of  the  seven- 
teenth century,  after  nearly  eighteen  years  of  study  and 
toil  and  service,  and,  it  must  be  added,  not  wholly  without 
guile.  From  1601  this  active  propagandist  was  tireless 
in  his  varied  activities  until  his  death  in  1610.  Ricci’s 
literary  gifts  were  extraordinary,  and  not  a few  of  his 
writings  are  still  in  use ; one  or  two  even  by  Protestants. 
His  topics  were  well  chosen  to  attract  the  literati,  and 
scarcely  any  foreigner  has  succeeded  so  well  in  clothing 
Christian  ideas  in  an  alluring  garb.  But  in  addition  to 

Encyclopaedia  Britannica,  Vol.  XVI.,  p.  517. 

Williams,  Middle  Kingdom,  Vol.  II.,  p.  290. 


254 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


such  labors,  as  head  of  a mission  with  four  stations  a 
taxing  correspondence  was  carried  on,  besides  that  which 
was  necessitated  by  inquiries  coming  from  all  parts  of 
the  Empire  as  to  the  doctrines  taught  and  the  books 
which  he  had  written.  Visitors  in  great  numbers  were 
always  made  welcome ; new  converts  were  to  be  received 
as  true  brothers ; and  grievous  burdens  arising  from  his 
relations  to  officials  and  to  the  Court  pressed  upon  him 
heavily.  Even  in  his  demise,  his  final  service  to  the 
cause  was  foreshadowed  in  his  words ; “ My  fathers, 

when  I reflect  by  what  means  I may  most  efficaciously 
propagate  the  Christian  faith  among  the  Chinese,  I find 
none  better  nor  more  persuasive  than  my  death,”  a be- 
lief which  materialized,  as  Hue  remarks,  in  his  public 
interment  with  the  Emperor’s  official  sanction,  thus  legal- 
izing Christianity  in  a way. 

For  a century  and  a half  after  Ricci’s  entrance,  the 
Empire  was  open  quite  generally  to  Western  influences, 
mainly  on  the  religious  and  educational-literary  side. 
Brilliant  men  followed  him  to  the  Court  who  commended 
Christianity  by  their  scientific  attainments  which  they 
were  ever  ready  to  place  at  the  Emperor’s  service.  The 
names  of  two  of  them  are  well  known  in  China : the 
learned  German  Jesuit,  Adam  Schaal  von  Bell,  made 
“ President  of  the  Mathematical  Tribunal,”  and  at  one 
time  tutor  of  the  famous  Emperor  K’ang  Hsi ; and 
Ferdinand  Verbiest,  a most  famous  astronomer  and 
maker  of  some  of  the  superb  astronomical  instruments 
whose  beauty  attracted  many  to  the  old  Peking  observa- 
tory, until  the  looting  of  them  by  foreign  powers  in  1900, 
a man  of  whom  Medhurst  writes : “ His  character, 

for  humility  and  modesty,  was  only  equalled  by  his  well- 
known  application  and  industry.  He  seemed  insensible 

Marshall,  Christian  Missions,  Vol.  I.,  p.  66. 

China : Its  State  and  Prospects,  p.  193. 


HISTORY  OF  CHRISTIAN  MISSIONS  255 


to  everything  but  the  promotion  of  science  and  religion. 
He  abstained  from  idle  visits,  the  reading  of  curious 
books  and  even  the  perusal  of  European  newspapers ; 
while  he  incessantly  employed  himself,  either  in  mathe- 
matical calculations,  in  instructing  proselytes,  in  corre- 
sponding with  the  grandees  of  the  Empire  on  the  in- 
terests of  the  mission,  or  in  w'riting  to  the  learned  of 
Europe,  inviting  them  to  repair  to  China.  His  private 
papers  are  indicative  of  the  depth  of  his  devotion,  the 
rigor  of  his  austerities,  his  watchfulness  over  his  heart 
amid  the  crowd  of  business,  and  the  ardor  with  which 
he  served  religion.  His  sincerity  was  attested  by  the 
endurance  of  sufferings  in  the  cause  which  he  had 
espoused,  and  his  disinterestedness  and  liberality  by  the 
profusion  of  his  gifts  to  others  and  the  renunciation  of 
indulgences  to  himself.” 

Yet  this  period  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  years,  though 
it  saw  the  wide  extension  of  Christianity,  the  erection  of 
a noble  church  within  the  precincts  of  K’ang  Hsi’s 
palace,  and  the  accomplishment  of  perhaps  still  the  best 
survey  of  the  Empire,  executed  by  the  missionaries  dur- 
ing the  years  1708-1718,  was  nevertheless  a time  of  fre- 
quent reverses  and  even  persecutions.  “ The  venerable 
Adam  Schaal  at  the  age  of  seventy-four  was  loaded  with 
chains  and  cast  into  prison,  together  with  a crowd  of 
converted  mandarins,  of  whom  five  were  martyred. 
Schaal  w’as  sentenced  to  be  strangled  and  chopped  in 
pieces ; but  it  is  related  ” — I am  quoting  a Romanist  his- 
torian of  their  China  mission  — “ that  whenever  the 

judges  assembled  to  read  the  decree,  they  were  forced  by 
earthquakes  to  fly  from  the  tribunal.”  Though  he  did 
not  meet  so  dreadful  a fate,  he  sank  under  the  outrages 
received  and  died  in  1666.  It  was  the  eminence  of  a 
little  circle  of  missionaries  at  Court  which  once  and 

18a  Marshall,  Christian  Missions,  Vol.  I.,  p.  69. 


256  CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 

again  stilled  the  threatening  storm.  Had  it  not  been  for 
the  virulence  of  the  inter-order  controversy  which  ar- 
rayed Jesuits,  Dominicans,  and  Franciscans  in  oppos- 
ing and  bitterly  hostile  camps — a battle  royal  which  was 
partly  political  also,  as  different  orders  were  under  the 
protection  of  unfriendly  European  powers,  and  which 
caused  successive  Popes  to  rule  against  each  other  in  a 
way  that  imperiled  the  later  dogma  of  Infallibility — 
Roman  missions  might  have  escaped  the  eclipse  which 
began  with  the  order  of  Yung  Cheng,  K’ang  Hsi’s  son 
and  successor,  issued  in  1724  and  strictly  prohibiting 
the  propagation  of  the  T’ien  Chu  Chiao,  or  Lord  of 
Heaven  Church,  as  Roman  Catholicism  is  denominated 
in  China. 

During  the  thirteen  decades  of  persecution,  extending 
from  the  issuance  of  the  prohibitory  order  just  mentioned 
until  the  treaties  of  1858  inaugurated  a new  era  for  mis- 
sions, exile,  imprisonment,  and  death  were  common  ex- 
periences, and  some  of  the  most  heroic  deeds  are  re- 
corded of  both  missionaries  and  their  converts,  thus 
disproving  the  untrue  criticism  of  the  Protestant  Giitzlaff 
that  the  Roman  missionaries  had  “ converted  thousands 
without  touching  the  heart.”  At  risk  of  life  converts 
stood  by  the  Church  and  its  leaders  most  nobly,  and  in 
spite  of  all  opposition,  400,000  Chinese  were  enrolled  as 
Romanists  in  1846,  and  eighty  European  missionaries 
ministered  in  great  peril  to  their  scattered  flocks. 

In  the  view  of  some  Roman  authorities,  even  more 
inimical  to  the  Church  than  outlawry  and  bitter  persecu- 
tion was  the  strife  within  the  Church  already  alluded  to. 
It  culminated  with  the  Bull  “ Ex  quo  singulari  ” of  Pope 
Benedict  XIV.,  issued  in  1742,  which  condemned  the 
Chine.se  ceremonies  as  idolatrous  and  finally  established 
T’ien  Chu,  Lord  of  Fleaven,  as  the  exclusive  designation 
of  God,  thus  putting  an  end  for  Catholic  missionaries  to 


HISTORY  OF  CHRISTIAN  MISSIONS  257 


the  “ term  question,”  which  has  been  until  recently  a bone 
of  contention  among  Protestants.  So  acute  a scholar  as 
Henri  Cordier,  like  a faithful  son  of  the  Church,  only 
last  year  had  this  to  say  of  that  decision : “ Rome 

having  spoken,  no  more  can  be  said  here  on  the  question; 
but  it  may  be  noted  that  the  Bull  Ex  quo  singulari  w'as 
a terrible  blow  to  missions  in  China.  There  are  fewer 
Christians  than  formerly  and  none  among  the  higher 
classes,  as  were  the  princes  and  mandarins  of  the  Court 
of  K’ang  Hsi.”  Indeed,  the  professor  might  have  gone 
back  to  that  Emperor’s  predecessor,  whose  mother,  prin- 
cipal wife,  and  eldest  son  had  been  baptized  by  Father 
Koffler,  and  who  had  dispatched  a letter  to  Pope  Alex- 
ander VII.  upon  which  high  hopes  were  built,  though  in 
vain.  Such  converts  as  Paul  Hsii,  the  famous  mandarin, 
and  his  daughter  Candida,  who  according  to  Du  Halde 
founded  thirty  churches  in  her  own  part  of  the  country, 
and  caused  nineteen  to  be  built  in  different  provinces  of 
the  Empire,  were  won  even  earlier  by  Ricci  himself,  and 
they  have  no  parallels  to-day. 

The  course  of  Roman  Catholicism  since  the  treaties 
of  half  a century  ago  has  been  one  of  steady  progress, 
despite  the  temporary  set  back  to  missions  of  every 
Christian  name  w'hich  occurred  at  the  time  of  the  Boxer 
outbreak  in  1900.  A hint  of  the  extent  of  their  opera- 
tions may  be  had  from  a few  statistical  items  taken  from 
the  latest  German  Catholic  statistical  work,  issued  last 
year.^^  According  to  Krose,  there  were  in  China  and 
its  dependencies,  1,026,168  Catholics,  including  14,000  of 
European  extraction,  most  of  them  presumable  at  the 
Portuguese  settlement  of  Macao.  Ministering  to  them 

The  Catholic  Encyclopedia,  Vol.  III.,  p.  672. 

2®  Marshall,  Christian  Missions,  Vol.  I.,  p.  65,  says  she  was 
his  granddaughter. 

Krose,  Katholische  Missions-statistik,  p.  79. 


258  CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


were  1,261  European  and  550  Chinese  priests,  291  lay- 
brothers,  and  3,846  members  of  various  sisterhoods.^* 
The  conquering  sign  of  the  Cross  marked  6,070 
churches  and  chapels  in  13,069  stations  and  outstations 
scattered  all  over  the  Empire.  Schools  to  the  number 
of  4,857  instructed  in  the  faith  and  in  other  useful  learn- 
ing 118,013  boys  and  girls,  while  23,380  pupils  received 
the  Church’s  fostering  care  in  their  orphanages.  Streit,*® 
another  trustworthy  Roman  statistician,  informs  us  that 
three  years  ago  the  orders  and  sisterhoods,  roughly 
corresponding  to  Protestant  societies,  represented  in  the 
foreign  force  comprised  eleven  of  priests,'' two  of  lay- 
brothers,  and  eleven  of  sisters ; so  that  one  item  of  sup- 
posed Roman  advantage,  namely,  the  multiplicity  of  send- 
ing organizations,  is  not  so  great  as  would  appear.  It 
must  be  added,  however,  that  the  Church  has  so  located 
the  different  orders  and  so  carefully  co-ordinated  their 
activities,  that  there  is  less  appearance  of  disunity  among 
them  than  among  Protestants, 

It  may  be  of  interest  to  note  some  of  the  items  in 
the  Roman  policy  and  practice  which  have  characterized 
the  missionary  efforts  of  that  communion  during  the 
past  three  and  a quarter  centuries.  Not  all  of  them  have 
been  continuous,  though  there  has  been  less  change  of 
program  among  Romanists  than  among  Protestants  who 
have  labored  in  China  less  than  one-third  as  long. 

As  they  began  under  Ricci’s  guidance  to  seek  to  in- 
fluence those  in  high  positions,  and  to  hold  themselves 
in  seclusion  from  the  rabble  in  dignified  aloofness,  so 
they  have  largely  continued  to  the  present  time.  One 
indication  of  that  desire,  though  it  also  had  other  motives, 
is  their  demand,  recognized  by  the  Government  in  a 

22  According  to  Streit,  Statistische  Notizen,  p.  14,  659  are 
Europeans. 

23  Statisticlie  Notizen  zum  katholischen  Missionsatlas,  p.  12. 


HISTORY  OF  CHRISTIAN  MISSIONS  259 


decree  of  March  15,  1899,  for  a status  corresponding  in 
rank  with  Chinese  officials — bishops  being  in  rank  and 
dignity  the  equals  of  viceroys  and  governors,  vicars- 
general  and  archdeacons,  of  provincial  judges,  and  so 
on  down  the  line.  That  ruling  was  extended  to  Prot- 
estants in  accordance  with  the  “ most  favored  nation  ” 
clause  of  early  treaties,  but  they  refused  such  question- 
able and  compromising  honors — honors  which  the  Gov- 
ernment revoked  a year  or  two  since  in  the  case  of 
Romanists.  In  their  contact  with  the  people  they  have 
always  been  more  or  less  open  to  the  criticism  of  Pere 
Ripa,  who  long  ago  wTOte  to  his  brethren:*^  “If  our 
European  missionaries  in  China  would  conduct  them- 
selves with  less  ostentation  and  accommodate  their  man- 
ners to  persons  of  all  ranks  and  conditions,  the  number 
of  converts  would  be  immensely  increased.  Their  gar- 
ments are  made  of  the  richest  materials ; they  go  nowhere 
on  foot,  but  always  in  sedans,  on  horseback,  or  in  boats, 
and  with  numerous  attendants  following  them.  With  a 
few  honorable  exceptions,  all  the  missionaries  live  in  this 
manner;  and  thus,  as  they  never  mix  with  the  people, 
they  make  but  few  converts.”  But  there  is  another  side 
to  this  Romanist’s  criticism.  The  Chinese  are  accus- 
tomed to  precisely  this  aloofness ; and  w'hen,  in  their 
estimate  of  the  dignity  of  the  teacher  and  scholar,  a 
missionary  holds  himself  cheap  in  their  esteem,  he  loses 
much  influence.  Not  a few  native  criticisms  of  Prot- 
estant missionaries  contrast  unfavorably  their  bustling 
activity  and  disregard  of  dignity  with  the  reserve  and 
seclusion  of  Catholic  fathers.  In  my  own  opinion,  Prot- 
estants may  learn  much  of  their  Roman  brethren  in  this 
respect,  though  they  would  certainly  never  go  to  the  ex- 
tremes of  1899  or  of  Pere  Ripa’s  picture. 

This  suggests  the  question.  How,  then,  do  they  reach 
Williams,  Middle  Kingdom,  Vol.  II.,  p.  305. 


26o 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


so  large  a number  of  Chinese  and  win  them  to  the  faith? 
The  old  method  described  by  the  Catholic  authority  just 
quoted  is  the  main  answer:^®  “The  diffusion  of  our 
holy  religion  in  these  parts  has  been  almost  entirely  ow- 
ing to  the  catechists  who  are  in  their  service,  to  other 
Christians,  or  to  the  distribution  of  Christian  books  in 
the  Chinese  language.”  These  catechists  and  lay  mem- 
bers of  the  Church  are  ever  on  the  watch  to  find  and 
introduce  to  the  missionaries  men  of  prominence,  either 
among  the  crowd  or  in  high  places ; and  in  the  privacy 
of  an  attractive  home  furnished  in  orthodox  Chinese 
style,  where  they  are  treated  individually  and  as  guests, 
not  a few  of  them  are  won  for  the  Church.  Another 
large  item  in  Krose’s  statistics — one  never  appearing  in 
Protestant  tables — is  the  baptism  of  infants  and  children 
“in  todesgefahr,”  in  articulo  mortis.  How  many  such 
are  at  the  point  of  death  brought  into  salvation  and 
within  the  pale  of  the  Church  one  cannot  say.  The 
statistics  of  last  year  are  not  full  on  this  point,^®  but  as 
they  stand,  in  China  and  its  dependencies  167,478  mor- 
ibund infant  baptisms  are  reported.  A more  commend- 
able source  of  supply  is  the  large  number  of  boys  and 
girls  in  Catholic  schools,  and  especially  the  23,380  pupils 
in  orphanages  in  1907  or  1908.  The  loving  care  of  the 
Sisters,  the  emphasis  of  religion  at  that  susceptible  age, 
the  provision  for  a helpful  religious  life  on  leaving  these 
institutions,  such  as  a Christian  marriage  for  the  girls, 
makes  the  orphange  a principal  door  into  the  Church. 
Another  attraction  which  Rome  has  for  the  Chinese,  in 
addition  to  the  stately  ceremonies  of  the  sanctuary  which 
contrasts  favorably  as  against  the  barrenness  of  Prot- 
estant chapels  and  a somewhat  barren  service,  is  the  aid 
which  catechumens  and  members  can  secure  in  the  case 

2®  Williams,  Middle  Kingdom,  Vol.  II.,  p.  305. 

2®  Katholische  Missionsstatistik,  pp.  56-58. 


HISTORY  OF  CHRISTIAN  MISSIONS  261 


of  lawsuits.  Missions  of  every  Christian  name  have  re- 
cently been  sought  for  the  same  reason;  but  if  one  cares 
to  consult  the  records  of  Chinese  courts,  it  will  be  found 
that  in  comparison  with  the  numbers  receiving  encour- 
agement in  litigation  from  Roman  missionaries,  those  so 
aided  by  their  Protestant  brethren  constitute  a negligible 
quantity.  Moreover,  the  lack  of  intimate  acquaintance 
of  individual  inquirers  is  far  greater  in  the  Catholic 
Church  than  in  Protestant  missions,  so  that  the  chances 
of  being  misinformed  as  to  the  merits  of  litigants  is 
greater  in  that  communion.  It  must  likewise  be  added, 
though  at  the  risk  of  the  charge  of  the  odium  theologi- 
cum,  that  in  the  disputes  between  Chinese  Romanists  and 
Protestants  which  have  aided  the  Catholic  cause  very 
often,  their  followers  have  in  the  great  majority  of  in- 
stances taken  the  initiative,  and  been  in  the  wrong.  The 
same  is  true  of  the  charge  of  proselytism  brought  by 
each  against  the  other. 

Yet  when  all  has  been  said,  and  when  the  official  at- 
titude is  acknowledged  to  be  more  unfavorable  to  the  Ro- 
manists, mainly  because  of  their  participation  in  politics 
and  their  use  therein  by  Western  diplomats,  there  re- 
mains the  fact  that  three  centuries  of  Roman  missions 
have  greatly  benefited  China.  It  was  through  their  repre- 
sentatives that  the  Occident  first  gained  an  adequate  con- 
ception of  China  and  the  Chinese ; it  was  they  who  first 
instructed  the  Empire  in  the  Western  sciences ; they  cast 
the  cannon,  reformed  the  calendar,  mapped  the  provinces ; 
they,  in  early  times,  had  a grip  on  the  Court  which  no 
mission  nor  legation  has  since  possessed — a grip  which 
was  religious  enough  to  win  not  a few  of  the  Imperial 
family,  some  of  whose  members  at  the  time  of  the  prohi- 
bition of  1724  willingly  endured  exile  and  chains  for  the 
sake  of  their  new  faith.  In  works  of  charity  they  have 
been  eminent ; in  the  creation  of  Christian  literature  they 


262  CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 

were  the  pioneers ; in  scientific  ministrations  to  the  Em- 
pire, Roman  fathers  are  still  benefactors,  as  witness  the 
work  of  the  eminent  meteorologists  of  Sicawei,  the  an- 
cestral home  of  Ricci’s  first  great  convert,  Paul  Hsii.  If 
their  Chinese  followers  lack  in  spiritual  strength  and  in 
Biblical  knowledge,  remember  that  they  have  been  left 
largely  to  the  care  of  catechists  with  no  Bible  in  their 
hands,  and  to  a regime  whose  traditions  cause  the  con- 
vert to  know  far  more  of  the  Church’s  ceremonial  than 
he  does  of  its  doctrine.  As  for  our  Protestant  repre- 
sentatives in  China,  one  could  wish  that  they  were  all 
worthy  of  the  estimate  passed  upon  certain  Roman  mis- 
sionaries by  an  early  Protestant  apostle.  Dr.  Milne,  which 
is  approvingly  quoted  by  Dr.  Medhurst : 

“ The  learning,  personal  virtues,  and  ardent  zeal  of 
some  of  them  deserve  to  be  imitated  by  all  future  mission- 
aries ; will  be  equalled  by  few,  and  perhaps  rarely  ex- 
ceeded by  any.  Their  steadfastness  and  triumph  in  the 
midst  of  persecutions  even  unto  blood  and  death,  in  all 
imaginable  forms,  show  that  the  questionable  Christianity 
w'hich  they  taught  is  to  be  ascribed  to  the  effect  of  edu- 
cation, not  design,  and  affords  good  reason  to  believe 
that  they  have  long  since  joined  the  army  of  martyrs  and 
are  now  wearing  the  crown  of  those  who  spared  not  their 
lives  unto  death,  but  overcame  by  the  blood  of  the  Lamb 
and  the  word  of  His  testimony.  It  is  not  to  be  doubted 
that  many  sinners  were,  through  their  labors,  turned 
from  sin  unto  holiness ; and  they  will  finally  have  due 
praise  from  God  as  fellow  workers  in  His  Kingdom.” 

Russo-Greek  Missions  in  China 

When  Pope  Innocent  the  Fourth’s  ambassador  reached 
the  Mongol  Court  of  Kayuk  Khan  in  1247,  was  as- 
tonished to  firid  that  two  of  the  Khan’s  ministers  were 

China : Its  State  and  Prospects,  p.  203. 


HISTORY  OF  CHRISTIAN  MISSIONS  263 


Greek  Christians  who  were  maintaining  a chapel  at  royal 
expense.  This  discovery  led  to  the  coming  of  other 
Christians  from  Syria,  Babylonia  and  the  Aral,  the  most 
learned  of  whom  became  the  Khan’s  physicians  and  as- 
trologers. Some  at  least  were  men  of  conviction,  for  John 
of  Plano  Carpini  himself  witnessed  the  execution  of 
Michael  ChernigoflF  for  refusing  to  worship  the  Mongol 
gods.'*  Later  Mongol  histories  speak  of  Russian  regi- 
ments, of  a Russian  camp  of  10,000  men,  and  of  Russian 
guards  even  in  Peking.  It  is  also  clear  that  in  the  four- 
teenth century  there  were  many  Greek  priests  and  at  least 
one  Russian  deacon  in  Mongolia  and  China. From 
the  time  of  the  Mongol  overthrow  until  the  advent  of  the 
Manchus  in  1640,  Chinese  documents  are  silent  as  to 
Russia  and  her  religion. 

It  is  with  the  capture  of  Albazin  on  the  Amur  River 
by  the  Manchus,  which  occurred  in  1685,  that  the  Rus- 
sian Holy  Orthodox  Church  became  fairly  established  in 
China.  A little  party  of  twenty-five  Russians,  who  had 
the  option  of  going  free  if  they  preferred,  accepted  the 
Emperor’s  offer  to  settle  in  Peking.  A priest,  Vasiliy 
LeontyefT,*®  went  with  them  carrying  his  ikons  and  his 
Christian  faith  to  China’s  capital,  almost  a century  after 
Ricci’s  advent  there.  Indeed,  had  it  not  been  for  the  op- 
position of  the  Jesuits,  Peter  the  Great  would  have  sent 
an  archbishop  to  Peking.  As  it  was,  those  Russian 
priests  who  were  allowed  to  come  to  the  Capital  nearly 
cost  the  Jesuits  their  posts  on  the  astronomical  board,®^ 
and  doubtless  would  have  done  so  had  not  Romanist  in- 

28  Parker,  China  and  Religion,  p.  232. 

29  Ibid.,  p.  233. 

89  Cordier  (The  Catholic  Encyclopedia,  Vol.  III.,  p.  679),  says 
that  the  date  is  1684,  the  number  of  Russians  thirty-one,  and 
the  “ pope,”  Maxim  Leontieff. 

81  Parker,  China  and  Religion,  p.  234. 


264 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


Irigues  and  promises  been  more  subtle  than  the  Russian 
advances.  In  the  years  1727-1734  China  built  a church 
for  the  new  religionists  in  the  Nan  Kuan,  or  southern 
hostelry,  the  model  being  the  same  as  that  of  the  French 
church  built  by  Louis  XIV.  and  the  Emperor  K’ang  Hsi 
for  the  use  of  the  Jesuits.  At  the  same  time  it  was  stipu- 
lated that  one  lama — they  called  Russian  priests  by  that 
Buddhistic  name,  as  their  vestments  and  rites  closely  re- 
sembled those  of  the  Buddhists — and  three  assistant  lamas 
should  dwell  there  permanently  at  China’s  expense. 

What  the  Russian  mission  was  at  this  time,  it  has 
since  continued  to  be — primarily  a ministry  to  the  de- 
scendants of  the  original  Albazin  colony  of  Russians  and 
a chaplaincy  to  the  Russian  legation,  and  in  a very 
secondary  way  a mission  to  the  Chinese.  It  has  had 
among  its  Archimandrites  ecclesiastics  of  considerable 
erudition,  conspicuously  Father  Hyacinth,  one  of  the 
foremost  authorities  on  China’s  social  life,  who  took  back 
with  him  to  Russia  several  tons  of  Chinese  books,  and 
the  even  more  eminent  Archimandrite  Palladius,  whose 
literary  productions  are  helpful  to  students  of  Buddhism 
and  Christianity  and  of  the  Mongols,  though  they  are 
largely  locked  up  in  the  Russian  tongue.  In  point  of 
winning  converts,  they  probably  never  enrolled  as  many 
as  a thousand  Chinese,  and  these  have  been  obliged  to  so 
thoroughly  understand  their  religion  that  they  have  come 
in  at  the  rate  of  not  more  than  a dozen  or  two  a year. 
For  their  use  the  Bible  and  other  Christian  books  have 
been  translated  into  Chinese.  Beyond  the  Capital  there  is 
little  work,  though  services  are  held  at  Tientsin  and  at 
two  towns  not  far  from  Peking.  It  is  said  that  since  the 
Boxer  uprising,  when  most  of  the  old  Albazin  colonists 
were  killed,  they  have  instituted  a new  policy.  They  are 
translating  fresh  Christian  books  and  are  extending  their 
lines  beyond  the  immediate  neighborhood  of  the  Capital. 


HISTORY  OF  CHRISTIAN  MISSIONS  265 

If  it  be  supposed  that  this  inactivity,  which,  after 
more  than  two  centuries  of  occupation,  has  led  to  such 
meager  results,  is  due  to  inherent  apathy  of  the  Holy 
Orthodox  Church,  the  phenomenal  success  of  Arch- 
bishop Nicolai  in  the  Capital  of  Japan  should  be  remem- 
bered. In  a single  lifetime,  not  yet  at  its  close,  he  has, 
practically  unaided  by  Europeans,  built  up  a church  with 
almost  30,000  members,®-  more  than  one-half  as  many 
as  the  communicants  of  Protestant  missions  in  Japan, 
with  their  nearly  eight  hundred  missionaries.  The  ex- 
planation is  rather  to  be  found  in  Russia’s  policy  in  China. 
From  Peter’s  time  onward  it  has  been  inconsistent  with 
that  policy  to  entrust  priests  with  any  power  which  might 
conceivably  compromise  the  State,  and  the  winning  of  nu- 
merous converts  might  disturb  diplomatic  relations. 
There  certainly  has  never  yet  been  a Russian  “ mission- 
ary disturbance.”  Indeed,  until  fifty-one  years  ago  the 
cost  of  the  mission  was  defrayed  by  China  herself,  so 
that  friction  would  mean  a division  of  her  house  against 
herself.  Prof.  Parker  remarks : ®®  “ Down  to  the  very 
last  post-’  Boxer  ’ days,  no  word  of  reproach  for  intrigue 
has  ever  been  breathed  against  a Russian  priest,  notwith- 
standing the  slippery  repute  of  latter-day  diplomats.” 

Protestant  Missions  in  China 

Turning  from  the  labors  of  Russian  missionaries,  the 
least  helpful  to  China’s  uplifting,  we  now  consider  the 
Protestant  missionary  enterprise,  which  any  impartial 
student  of  recent  progress  in  that  Empire  will  acknowl- 
edge has  been  the  foremost  educational  and  moral  force 
in  China’s  recent  surprising  evolution. 

As  the  later  history  of  Roman  and  Russian  missions  to 

The  Christian  Movement  in  Japan,  1908,  p.  344. 

China  and  Religion,  p.  241. 


266 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


that  Empire  was  incarnated  in  Ricci  and  foreshadowed 
in  the  fortunes  of  the  Albazin  colony,  so  Protestant  mis- 
sions find  in  their  pioneer,  Robert  Morrison,  the  embodi- 
ment of  their  later  program.  Arriving  at  Canton  one 
hundred  and  two  years  ago  the  seventh  of  September, 
this  English  last-  and  boot-tree  maker  accomplished,  or 
attempted,  during  the  remaining  twenty-seven  years  of 
his  life — Ricci’s  missionary  career,  by  the  way,  was  like- 
wise twenty-seven  years — almost  all  that  his  successors 
have  done  after  celebrating  his  centenary  there.  As  I 
stood  two  years  ago  in  the  corner  of  the  little  God’s-acre 
in  Macao,  I read  the  summary  on  the  flat  slab  which 
shelters  his  remains.  A representative  of  the  London 
Missionary  Society,  yet,  as  Chinese  translator  of  the  East 
India  Company,  earning  his  bread  and  additional  thou- 
sands of  pounds  lavished  on  his  varied  missionary  en- 
terprises, he  had  in  addition  done  these  monumental 
acts.  He  had  translated  with  the  assistance  of  Milne  the 
entire  Scriptures  into  Chinese ; he  had  prepared  unaided 
the  most  extensive  dictionary  of  the  Chinese  that  has  ever 
appeared  in  any  Occidental  tongue,  comprised  in  six 
great  quarto  volumes,  containing  4,595  pages ; he  had 
published  other  linguistic  helps  which  greatly  aided  early 
missionaries  to  that  Empire ; he  founded  and  quite  largely 
financed  the  famous  Anglo-Chinese  College ; he  estab- 
lished the  forerunner  of  what  might  have  given  the  key- 
note of  the  great  Morrison  Centenary  Conference  of  two 
years  ago,  “ The  Ultra  Ganges  Missionary  Union,” 
whose  objects  were,  in  part:^*  To  unite  the  mission- 
aries of  Southeastern  Asia  and  cultivate  mutual  fellow- 
ship, to  strengthen  and  perpetuate  the  missions  connected 
with  the  Union,  to  establish  and  support  a general  semi- 
nary, to  carry  on  a periodical  work,  etc.  He  was  pur- 

Mrs.  Morrison,  Memoirs  of  the  Life  and  Labours  of  Robert 
Morrison,  D.  D.,  Vol.  II.,  Appendix,  p.  i. 


HISTORY  OF  CHRISTIAN  MISSIONS  267 


chasing  agent  and  general  adviser  for  all  the  missionaries 
of  the  world.  The  first  work  for  medical  missions  in 
China  was  the  result  of  his  investigation  into  the  needs 
of  the  poor,  seconded  by  a dispensary  which  he  opened 
with  a native  practitioner  at  its  head  and  eight  hundred 
Chinese  medical  books  as  its  library.  He  was  chaplain  to 
the  foreign  community  and  spiritual  adviser  and  pastor 
to  a little  company  of  Chinese  who  dared  to  come  in 
secret  to  his  Bible  e.xpositions.  If  you  will  read  his 
memoirs  and  his  published  works,  you  will  find  it  hard 
to  think  of  any  important  development  of  the ‘past  half 
century  which  he  had  not  experimented  upon,  or  thought 
of  and  discussed  as  a possibility. 

Dr.  Williams,  one  of  the  earliest  missionaries  to  go 
from  America  to  China,  who  knew  personally  Dr.  Mor- 
rison and  his  great  work,  writes : “ As  he  had 

expressed  himself — when  leaving  New  York  twenty- 
seven  years  before — sure  that  God  would  make  an 
impression  on  the  idolatry  of  the  Chinese  Empire,  he 
now  saw  that  his  work  had  not  been  in  vain.  His  w'ork 
had  indeed  been  far  different  in  its  details  from  what 
he  had  planned  in  his  mind,  but  the  aim  had  been  un- 
wavering and  the  results  promising.  . . . His 
name,  like  those  of  Carey,  Marshman,  Judson,  and 
Martyn,  belongs  to  the  heroic  age  of  missions.  Each  ' 
of  them  was  fitted  for  a peculiar  field.  Morrison  was 
able  to  work  alone,  uncheered  by  congenial  companions 
and  sustained  by  his  energy  and  sense  of  duty,  present- 
ing to  foreigners  and  natives  alike  an  instance  of  a man 
diligent  in  business,  fervent  in  spirit,  serving  the  Lord. 
His  life  was  mostly  passed  in  the  midst  of  those  who  had 
no  sympathy  with  his  pursuits,  but  his  zeal  never  abated, 
nor  did  he  compromise  his  principles  to  advance  his  cause. 
His  translations  and  his  dictionary  have  been  indeed 
Lives  of  the  Leaders  of  Our  Church  Universal,  pp.  836,  837. 


268 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


superseded  by  better  ones,  built  on  his  foundations  and 
guided  by  his  experience ; but  his  was  the  work  of  a 
wise  master-builder,  and  future  generations  in  the  Church 
of  God  in  China  will  ever  find  reason  to  bless  Him  for 
the  labors  and  example  of  Robert  Morrison.” 

In  discussing  the  work  of  Protestant  missions  in  China 
we  have  to  do  with  an  enterprise  which  is  tolerably  famil- 
iar to  you,  more  so  probably  than  missions  in  any  other 
country,  and  vastly  more  so  than  the  work  of  the  Roman 
and  Russo-Greek  Church  discussed  at  considerable  length. 
Permit  me,  therefore,  to  remind  rather  than  inform  you, 
of  a few  salient  facts  in  the  missionary  history  of  the  last 
hundred  and  two  years  in  China. 

And  first,  let  us  look  at  the  three  outstanding  periods 
of  Protestantism’s  occupation.  The  years  from  Morri- 
son’s landing  until  the  revision  of  treaties  in  1858-1860 — 
a little  more  than  half  a century — constitute  the  period  of 
preparation  and  entrance.  During  seven-tenths  of  this 
time  most  of  the  workers  had  been  compelled  to  labor 
outside  China  proper  in  the  Malay  peninsula  and  on  adja- 
cent islands  where  Chinese  colonists  were  accessible.  The 
few  who  were  on  the  mainland  worked  under  the  greatest 
restrictions,  and  often  in  considerable  peril.  Even  after 
an  entrance  was  effected  by  the  treaty  of  1842,  it  was  the 
right  of  a hated  might  wrenched  from  unwilling  China  by 
a great  Christian  power  in  so  unrighteous  a cause  as 
opium  selling.  Only  five  cities  on  the  coast  of  the  south- 
ern half  of  the  Empire  were  nominally  open,  and  the 
openness  of  even  these  may  be  judged  from  the  descrip- 
tion of  the  old  Baptist  veteran,  recently  deceased.  Dr. 
Ashmore:  “We  were  mobbed  in  the  fu  city,  mobbed  in 
the  district  cities,  mobbed  in  the  large  towns.  We  got  so 
used  to  being  pelted  with  mud  and  gravel  and  bits  of 
broken  pottery  that  things  seemed  strange  if  we  escaped 
the  regular  dose.  . . . We  went  out  from  our 


HISTORY  OF  CHRISTIAN  MISSIONS  269 


homes  bedewed  with  the  tears  and  benedictions  of  dear 
ones,  and  we  came  back  plastered  over,  metaphorically 
speaking,  with  curses  and  objurgations  from  top  to  bot- 
tom. ...  It  went  badly  with  our  chapels  that 
we  rented.  They  were  often  assailed ; roofs  were  broken 
up,  doors  were  battered  in,  and  furniture  was  carried 
off.  There  was  nothing  else  to  do  but  to  keep  at  it.  Driven 
out  of  one  place,  we  betook  ourselves  to  another  accord- 
ing to  instructions.  But  we  did  not  leave  the  country  as 
the  literati  desired,  and  we  did  not  intend  to.  We  wore 
them  out,  as  an  anvil  sometimes  wears  out  a hammer.” 
But  during  this  period  much  was  being  accomplished. 
The  preparation  of  grammars, — falsely  supposed  then 
and  by  later  authors  to  be  helpful  in  acquiring  the  lan- 
guage,— dictionaries,  and  other  real  linguistic  helps ; the 
work  of  Bible  translation  and  the  publication  and  wide 
distribution  of  Christian  books  and  tracts,  one  of  which, 
Milne’s  “ Two  Friends,”  is  still  perhaps  the  most  widely 
useful  publication  of  that  class  of  literature ; the  begin- 
nings of  Western  Christian  education,  culminating  in  the 
Anglo-Chinese  College ; faithful  itineration  within  the 
prescribed  limits,  save  for  the  surreptitious  peregrina- 
tions of  Burns,  Medhurst,  and  others,  extending  to  within 
a hundred  miles  of  Peking  in  the  case  of  Giitzlaff ; an 
intensive  work  of  teaching  little  groups  the  Christian  re- 
ligion by  word  and  life ; the  entering  of  Dr.  Peter  Par- 
ker’s skillful  lancet  into  the  bodies  and  affections  of  the 
people  in  such  a way  that  China  has  ever  since  welcomed 
the  Christian  physician  and  surgeon — these  are  some  of 
the  achievements  which  should  be  placed  over  against  the 
pitifully  meager  showing  of  converts,  who  numbered  only 
six  at  the  signing  of  the  treaties  in  1842,  and  whose  num- 
ber even  in  i860  averaged  only  six  Chinese  believers  to 
each  of  the  one  hundred  and  sixty  odd  male  missionaries 
then  laboring  in  the  Empire.  To  be  sure  this  little  band 


270 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


was  made  up  of  men  who  had  counted  the  cost  and  who 
were  often  stalwarts  in  the  cause.  Such  a man,  for  in- 
stance, as  Milne’s  first  convert,  Liang  A-fa,  would  count 
as  a host  in  any  age ; and  when  we  recall  that  it  was 
through  him  that  the  leader  of  the  famous  Taiping 
Rebellion — a movement  which  cost  the  lives  of  twenty 
millions  and  which  was  Christian  in  its  first  and  hopeful 
stage — derived  his  early  aspirations  after  a holier  life, 
from  which,  alas ! he  later  so  grievously  departed — we 
can  see  that  statistics  are  often  misleading. 

The  second  period  may  be  roughly  called  that  of  con- 
tinuous, though  slow;  progress,  when  most  of  the  policies 
to-day  obtaining  were  tried  out  and  improved  upon.  It 
extends  from  the  throwing  open  of  the  entire  Empire 
to  missionary  effort  through  the  treaties  of  i860,  to  the 
beginning  of  China’s  real  awakening,  eleven  years  ago. 
During  these  thirty-eight  years  Roman  and  Protestant 
missionaries  went  openly  and  with  little  opposition  to  the 
remotest  parts  of  the  eighteen  provinces.  Hence,  in- 
stead of  Protestantism’s  five  lighthouses  on  the  south- 
eastern coast  in  i860,  in  1898  its  representatives  were 
holding  forth  the  lamp  of  knowledge  and  of  life  in  four 
hundred  and  sixty-nine  main  stations,  whence  they  went 
out  to  regular  appointments  at  1,969  outstations  scattered 
throughout  the  entire  Empire.  The  one  hundred  si.xty 
odd  representatives  of  nineteen  missionary  societies  had 
increased  to  2,458  missionaries  of  fifty-three  boards. 

These  nearly  four  decades  saw  a very  wide  develop- 
ment of  educational  and  medical  effort,  the  practical  in- 
auguration of  woman’s  work,  the  establishment  of  several 
-Strong  churches  in  place  of  the  isolation  of  believers  in 
earlier  days,  and  the  entrance  of  the  principle  of  the  China 
Inland  Mission,  as  well  as  of  the  organization  itself. 
During  the  latter  part  of  this  period,  famines  and  con- 
sequent relief,  administered  mainly  by  missionaries,  and 


HISTORY  OF  CHRISTIAN  MISSIONS  271 


the  emergence  and  growth  of  self-support,  were  promi- 
nent features  of  the  enterprise.  The  former  did  much 
to  dispel  the  old  feeling  that  missionaries  were  mere 
preaching  machines  with  little  heart  and  this-worldliness 
to  their  credit;  self-support,  even  though  limited  in  its 
prevalence,  sounded  the  awakening  bugle  of  independ- 
ence and  indigenous  growth.  Yet  the  greatest  gain  to 
Christianity  of  these  years  w'as  the  work  of  the  Christian 
school,  as  has  been  made  evident  since  1900.  Even  as 
late  as  1898,  Western  education  was  so  belittled  and  de- 
spised that  the  Government  practically  would  have  none 
of  it ; and  as  altruism  does  not  impel  unbelievers  to  con- 
tribute money  and  life  even  to  so  important  an  object  as  a 
great  nation’s  enlightenment — if  it  is  in  Asia — Christian 
schools  had  a monopoly  of  this  indispensable  leaven  for 
post-Boxer  day  use.  Another  agency  which  came  into 
prominence  at  the  end  of  this  period,  and  in  a way  oc- 
casioned the  rise  of  New  China,  is  the  Christian  Litera- 
ture Society,  then  glorying  in  the  cumbrous  name,  the 
Society  for  the  Diffusion  of  Christian  and  General 
Knowledge.  Its  publications  were  eagerly  sought  after 
especially  between  1894-5,  the  date  of  China’s  war  with 
Japan,  and  the  coup  d’etat  of  1898.  In  the  latter  year 
the  Emperor  was  eagerly  devouring  many  of  its  publica- 
tions,— an  appetite  for  Christian  books  which  seems  to 
have  had  its  inception  in  1894,  when  China’s  Christian 
women  gave  the  Empress  Dowager  a sumptuous,  specially 
made  copy  of  the  New  Testament  which  strongly  at- 
tracted his  attention. 

The  third  period  of  Protestant  missions  in  China,  in 
which  the  Church  is  now  laboring,  began  on  September 
22,  1898,  when  in  consequence  of  the  coup  d’etat  Kuang 
Hsii  left  the  throne  for  virtual,  though  temporary,  con- 
finement. Six  days  later  six  martyrs  to  reform  in  a more 
sanguinary  way  followed  their  Imperial  master,  protest- 


2/2 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


ing  as  the  sword  deprived  them  of  their  heads  that  though 
the  grass  might  be  cut,  the  roots  still  remained  and  would 
shoot  forth  again  in  a more  favorable  time.  They  were 
true  prophets,  and  the  past  eleven  years  have  seen  more 
progress  than  is  recorded  in  all  the  earlier  pages  of  Chi- 
na’s millennial  history. 

What  has  this  period  meant  for  our  missionaries  to  that 
land  of  supreme  opportunity?  It  meant,  at  the  very  out- 
set almost,  such  a baptism  of  blood  as  Protestant  mis- 
sions have  not  seen  even  in  sanguinary  Madagascar. 
You  vividly  recall  the  gruesomely  fascinating  stories  of 
martyrdom  that  make  Boxer  year  epochal  in  the  Chi- 
nese churches  of  all  the  great  communions.  The  siege  of 
the  legations  was  only  an  episode  in  a movement  which 
reproduced  in  North  China  the  varied  details  of  horror 
visited  upon  the  heroes  of  the  faith  as  depicted  in  the 
eleventh  chapter  of  Hebrews.  And  then  we  learned  for 
the  first  time  in  our  generation  that  the  blood  of  faith- 
ful witnesses  is  at  once  the  seed  and  the  fertilizer  of  the 
Church.  But  surely  the  loss  of  one  hundred  thirty-five 
Protestant  missionaries  and  more  than  fifty  of  their  in- 
nocent children,  the  slaughter  of  no  one  knows  how  many 
thousands  of  Chinese  Christians,  many  of  whom  suf- 
fered untold  agonies  under  the  horrid  torments  of  their 
enemies,  and  the  scattering  of  the  Church  through  nearly 
a year  of  persecution,  must  have  been  an  irreparable 
calamity  to  the  Christian  cause. 

Yes,  and  no.  Most  helpful  missionaries  and  Chi- 
nese Christians  can  no  longer  further  the  work  they  so 
much  loved — at  least  in  the  flesh ; not  a few  who  bore 
the  Christian  name  did  just  what  you  and  I might 
have  done  with  similar  horrible  certainties  facing  us — 
what  the  rocklike  Peter  did  with  vastly  less  excuse — 
and  this  denial  saved  the  lives  of  witnesses  to  the  sup- 
posed weakness  of  Christian  professions ; a natural 


HISTORY  OF  CHRISTIAN  MISSIONS  273 


fear  came  upon  many — and  will  remain  with  them 
perhaps  till  death — of  connecting  themselves  with  an 
enterprise  which  holds  faith  of  more  worth  than  an 
easy  life  bought  by  its  denial ; innumerable  difficulties, 
threatening  the  peace  of  the  Church  and  the  integrity 
of  its  members,  were  the  aftermath  of  the  year  1900; 
in  the  new  openness  to  the  progress  unwillingly  thrust 
upon  China,  temptations  to  materialism  have  taken  from 
the  Church’s  service  some  men  who  were  its  pillars  in 
1899. 

On  the  other  side  of  the  ledger  are  many  compensat- 
ing gains.  God  was  in  the  siege  in  Peking,  and  His  right 
hand  was  manifest  in  all  that  northern  tier  of  provinces; 
and  when  men  and  women  and  children  have  been  forced 
into  His  very  presence  and  have  come  to  know  Him  as 
deliverer  and  friend,  higher  criticism,  lower  criticism, 
infidelity,  pagan  attacks  on  Christianity’s  God^  and 
every  other  creature,  fail  to  shake  the  foundations. 
Again,  the  Chinese  have  always  been  sceptical  as  to  the 
reality  of  their  Christian  neighbor’s  religion.  “ Is  it  any 
different  after  all  from  our  three  religions?”  A Chris- 
tian student  pointing  upward  with  his  finger  after  the 
testimony  of  the  faithful  tongxie  has  ceased  through  its 
excision  and  just  as  he  draws  his  last  agonized  breath ; 
the  calm  serenity  of  a Peking  pastor  as  he  comes  forth 
to  meet  his  doom,  dressed  in  his  best  garments  that  he 
may  be  worthy  of  his  crimson  coronet ; forgiveness  of 
enemies  who  have  slain  his  wife  and  little  children  be- 
fore taking  his  own  head,  symbolized  by  a preacher’s 
knees  bent  in  the  prayer  attitude  when  his  remains  were 
disinterred  months  later ; the  songs  of  gladness  with 
which  even  a woman  may  go  to  her  watery  grave;  the 
bold  confessions  of  schoolboys  under  fourteen  who 
gladly  die  rather  than  deny  their  loving  Saviour ; the  un- 
quenchable witness  of  dying  maidens,  quite  as  wonder- 


274 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


ful  as  those  of  early  Church  heroines ; these  are  familiar 
stories  among  unbelieving  Boxers,  now  humble  follow- 
ers of  the  Christ  they  persecuted  in  the  persons  of  His 
little  ones.  Yes,  Christianity  certainly  is  a religion  of  a 
totally  different  genus.  And  finally,  the  necessity  of  car- 
ing for  their  own  religious  life  during  the  year  of  terror, 
the  rehabilitation  of  half-destroyed  church  buildings,  and 
the  care  of  the  unshepherded  flock  when  the  storm  was 
overpast,  together  with  the  new  opportunities  for  earn- 
ing a livelihood  in  certain  sections,  have  been  a very  de- 
cided help  in  the  direction  of  self-support  and  independ- 
ence. 

Do  you  ask  the  characteristic  American  question, 
Will  figures  prove  progress  during  these  eleven  years, 
after  such  a calamitous  sturm  und  drang  period?  I re- 
gret to  say  that  I have  not  completed  the  statistics  for 
the  World  Missionary  Conference  for  next  June,  but 
these  are  the  best  available  and  will  not  fall  far  short  of 
those  that  I shall  have  to  offer  at  Edinburgh.  I give 
you  only  a few  items  from  the  China  tables  for  the  years 
1908  and  1898  with  the  percentage  of  gain  during  that 
decade. 


1908 

1898 

Gain 

Number  of  missionaries.... 

4.059 

2,458 

1,601=  65.1% 

Number  of  native  workers, 
both  Sexes  

9,784 

5.071 

4,713=  92.9% 

Number  of  communicants. . 

191,985 

80,682 

111,303=137.9% 

Stations  having  foreign  mis- 
sionaries   

527 

469 

58=  1 2.4% 

Outstations  

3,703 

1,969 

1,734=  88.1% 

Pupils  in  day  schools 

50,910 

30,046 

20,864=  69.4% 

Students  in  higher  institu- 
tions   

14,258 

4,285 

9,973=232.7% 

No  comment  is  needed  with  regard  to  these  figures,  and 
they  fairly  represent  items  of  advance  in  other  direc- 
tions. 

If  you  w'ould  know  the  program  of  our  Protestant 


HISTORY  OF  CHRISTIAN  MISSIONS  275 


brothers  and  sisters  in  China,  you  can  find  it  in  the  il- 
luminating discussions  of  the  great  Centenary  Confer- 
ence held  two  years  since  at  Shanghai.  The  Chinese 
Church  stands  at  the  forefront  of  their  deliberations, 
followed  by  such  vital  themes  as  the  Chinese  ministry, 
education  for  young  men  and  women,  as  well  as  in  lower 
schools  and  for  special  classes  like  the  blind  and  the 
deaf  and  dumb ; evangelistic  work,  which  is  to  be  en- 
larged instead  of  minimized,  woman’s  work  in  widen- 
ing variety  as  befits  the  advent  of  China’s  new  woman- 
hood, the  vastly  important  topic  of  Christian  literature, 
the  perennial  problem  of  ancestral  worship,  medical  mis- 
sions, including  China’s  first  insane  asylum ; the  transla- 
tion and  distribution  of  the  Bible  and  the  newer  promo- 
tion of  its  rational  understanding  and  more  profitable 
study ; comity  and  federation,  the  missionary  and  public 
questions,  and,  lastly,  important  memorials  in  which  the 
united  body  of  missionaries  endeavored  to  influence  China 
and  Christian  lands  as  w'ell. 

But  this  does  not  tell  the  whole  story.  Those  who, 
like  myself,  can  compare  the  China  of  twenty-five  years 
ago  with  the  China  of  this  year  of  grace  can  scarcely  be- 
lieve our  senses.  Steam  navigation  extending  to  shallow 
streams ; railways,  telegraph  lines,  and  telephones  even 
in  the  Imperial  Capital ; silk  filatures  and  miniature  South 
Bethlehems  belching  out  Occidental  pillars  of  smoke ; 
groaning  presses  pouring  forth  books  by  the  million  and 
periodicals  without  number ; waterworks  and  sanitation 
for  many  great  cities ; a modern  army  and  a nascent  navy 
of  Occidental  type;  old  examination  halls,  where  within 
five  years  as  many  as  25,000  students  have  competed  for 
degrees  in  a single  center,  demolished  to  make  room  for 
colleges  of  the  modern  sort ; hundreds  of  thousands  of 
boys  and  girls,  many  in  natty  uniform,  attending  the 
lower  schools,  from  the  kindergarten  up ; opium  dens 
under  the  ban  and  footbinding  about  to  leave  the  home ; 


2-6  CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 

thousands  of  students  back  from  Japan  and  the  Occident 
to  leaven  the  new  nation ; the  tortures  of  the  old  law 
court  disappearing  while  new  codes  are  evolving ; great 
numbers  gathering  in  orderly  lecture  halls  night  by  night 
to  hear  politics,  history,  education,  and  reform  discussed ; 
a constitutional  government  promised  for  a near  date — 
and  what  else?  Thank  God,  in  the  midst  of  all  this  well- 
nigh  unbelievable  life  we  see  missionaries,  not  idly  gaz- 
ing, but  respected  and  consulted  by  officials  who  ten  years 
ago  would  have  scornfully  refused  to  receive  them,  had 
they  called.  They  are  more  than  ever  the  educators, 
where  thoroughness  is  called  for,  despite  the  multitud- 
inous schools  established  by  the  Government  and  the  op- 
portunities offered  by  near-by  Japan.  When  the  new  day 
dawned,  China  found  herself  wdthout  modern  teachers, 
and  as  the  only  source  of  supply  was  the  mission  school 
and  college,  a surprisingly  large  proportion  of  the  best 
Chinese  teachers  are  men  who  have  been  under  Christian 
influence,  or  are  earnest  believers,  this  being  preeminently 
true  of  woman’s  education.  Through  the  Young  Men’s 
and  Young  Women’s  Christian  Associations  young  dis- 
ciples are  being  organized  into  a compact  force  for  na- 
tional regeneration  under  the  guidance  of  missionaries. 
Assuredly  the  Protestant  missionary  is  in  the  kingdom 
for  such  a time  as  this,  and  God  is  giving  him  more 
opportunities  than  he  can  embrace.  And  missionaries 
are  no  longer  isolated  units,  or  even  segregated  de- 
nominationalists.  Shanghai,  1907,  made  unity  and  co- 
operation the  watchword  of  the  hour ; so  that  henceforth, 
much  as  one  deprecates  the  martial  phase  of  the  figure 
and  its  numerical  falseness,  we  can  truthfully  sing  of 
the  Protestant  missionary  body  in  China, 

“ Like  a mighty  army,  moves  the  Church  of  God, 

We  are  not  divided,  a]l  one  body  we. 

One  in  hope  and  doctrine,  one  in  charity.” 


XV 


THE  PROGRESS  OF  RELIGIOUS  EDUCATION 
IN  CHINA 

As  I studied  the  subject  suggested  to  me,  I found  my- 
self forced  to  assume  that  the  movement  of  religious 
education  in  progress  in  the  Orient  is,  primarily  at  least, 
a Christian  movement.  I mean,  that  it  is  the  moral  and 
spiritual  aspect  of  a culture  which  had  its  point  of  de- 
parture in  the  impulse  of  Western,  and  dominantly  of 
Christian,  men  and  institutions.  When  I first  said  this 
to  myself  it  made  me  uncomfortable.  I know  the  Orient 
in  some  measure.  What  I know  has  taught  me  reverence 
for  the  character  and  faiths  of  the  races  of  the  East. 
It  seemed  to  me,  for  a moment,  incongruous  that  I 
.should  not  take  the  ethical  and  spiritual  aspect  of  the 
education  associated  with  the  religions  of  the  East,  as 
my  central  theme,  and  deal  with  the  Christian  education 
as  only  the  fringe  of  the  problem,  since  the  Christians 
are  only  the  fringe  of  the  population  of  the  nations  of 
the  East.  What  right  have  I,  if  I would  speak  with 
insight  and  in  generous  spirit,  to  choose  the  other 
course  ? 

Let  me  explain,  then,  as  briefly  as  I may.  There  is 
some  inculcation  of  the  tenets  of  Buddhism  and  again 
of  Confucianism  in  Japan.  But  this  would  be  parallel 
to  specific  instruction  in  the  dogmas  and  rites  of  Chris- 
tianity as  carried  on  for  convinced  Christians  among  us 
in  America.  There  is  instruction  in  the  mysteries  of  the 
Hindoo  faiths  for  Hindoos.  There  is  at  Cairo,  and  at 
other  centers  of  Mohammedan  enthusiasm,  a preparation 

277 


278 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


of  propagandists  for  Mohammedanism.  There  is  vast 
expenditure  of  intellectual  energy  all  over  China  in  the 
teaching  of  Confucian  ethics.  And  I am  very  far  from 
saying  that  this  will  not  play  a part  in  the  development 
of  the  character  of  the  China  which  is  to  be. 

But  all  this  is  specific  education  in  the  Confucian  sys- 
tem, in  Mohammedanism,  in  Buddhism  and  the  rest.  It 
is  not  education  at  all,  in  the  larger  sense  in  which  we 
use  that  word.  It  is  not  the  effort  to  impart  to  men  the 
whole  complex  of  knowledge  on  the  basis  of  reason  and 
of  induction  from  experience.  It  is  not  the  effort  to 
teach  the  facts  of  the  sciences  of  nature  and  of  society, 
the  rational  criticism  of  history  and  literature,  the  prin- 
ciples of  medicine,  of  economics  and  government,  of 
philosophy  and  of  religion  itself,  such  as  we  mean  when 
we  talk  about  education.  It  is  not  the  effort  to  find  the 
relation  of  this  knowledge  to  faith,  and  to  vindicate  for 
the  ancestral  faith  its  proper  place  in  the  midst  of  this 
knowledge.  It  is  not  the  effort  to  appropriate  this 
knowledge  for  the  transformation  of  the  faith. 

But  that  is  what  we  do  mean  when  we  speak  of  Chris- 
tian education.  When  we  speak  of  Christian  education 
as  conducted  in  Clarke  University,  or  in  Harvard  Uni- 
versity, we  do  not  mean  merely  instruction  in  the  tradi- 
tions of  Christianity.  We  mean  a real  education,  in 
which  the  historical  fact  and  the  personal  experience 
known  as  religion  constitutes  an  integral  element,  and 
over  which  religion  exerts  a subtle,  characteristic,  and,  as 
we  think,  immeasurably  valuable  influence:  producing  a 
certain  kind  of  educated  man,  namely,  a man  who  is 
both  educated  and  religious — the  one  as  much  as  the 
other. 

I am  not  unaware  that  there  are  some  among  us  who 
still  think  that  the  zeal  for  religion  is  inhibitive  of  real 
education.  We  do  not  believe  that  for  a moment.  Nor 


RELIGIOUS  EDUCATION  IN  CHINA  279 


am  I unaware  that  there  are  religious  persons  among  us 
who  view  real  education  somewhat  askance,  and  shrink 
from  some  of  its  consequences,  just  as  a Mohammedan 
might.  But  more  and  more  these  people  hide  them- 
selves. The  ideal,  followed,  in  the  large,  in  splendid 
fashion,  is  that  which  I have  endeavored  to  describe. 

Now  if  you  ask  me  whether  there  is  any  such  endeavor 
in  the  nations  of  the  Orient,  which  has  had  its  origin  in 
the  faiths  of  the  Orient,  the  answer  is  that  there  is  not. 
There  are  some  persons  educated  in  the  schools  of  West- 
ern learning,  which  all  had  their  origin  in  the  Christian 
missionary  movement  in  those  lands,  who  are  ardent 
for  education  and  not  at  all  zealous  for  Christianity. 
These  see  the  effects  of  an  education  purely  secular. 
They  would  endeavor  to  imitate  the  combination,  above 
described,  of  real  education  with  their  own  faiths.  But 
that  is  an  imitative,  a derived  and  secondary  movement, 
as,  also,  the  education  is  almost  entirely  derived.  It  is 
a very  interesting  effort,  possibly  some  day  it  will  be 
potent.  But  it  is  following  in  the  wake  of  what  men 
have  learned  from  the  Christian  West.  But,  if  you  ask 
me  whether  there  is  any  Mohammedan,  Buddhist,  Con- 
fucian  education,  original,  I mean,  and  native,  which  is 
parallel  to  the  Christian  education  I above  described,  the 
answer  is  that  there  is  not. 

I am,  therefore,  shut  up  by  the  facts  to  the  view  which 
at  first,  to  me  myself,  seemed  to  be  a kind  of  treason  to 
a liberal  view.  If  we  are  going  to  speak  here  of  educa- 
tion, I am  forced  to  take  my  departure  from  a real 
education.  It  is  only  very  recently  that  this  education 
in  a large  way  has  been  introduced  into  China.  It  may 
be  open  to  us  to  say  that  there  are  more  faiths  of  men 
than  one.  But  it  is  not  open  to  us  to  say  that  there  is 
more  than  one  science  of  the  heavens,  or  more  than  one 
set  of  the  laws  of  nature,  as  these  are  given  us  in 


28o 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


physics,  or  of  the  fundamental  principles  of  the  action 
of  men  in  society,  or  more  than  one  ordered  set  of  ob- 
servations upon  the  life  of  the  body  such  as  those  upon 
which  the  practice  of  medicine  among  us  rests.  And  if 
we  are  to  speak  of  religion,  we  have  to  take  our  de- 
parture from  that  religion  which,  though  it  has  been 
sometimes  justly  reproached  for  its  slowness  in  this  re- 
gard, yet  has  shown  immeasurably  greater  power  of 
adaptation  to  the  advance  of  modern  learning  than  has, 
thus  far,  at  least,  any  other  religion  which  prevails 
among  men.  That  is  the  Christian  religion.  Judaism 
among  us  has  shown  the  same  power  of  adaptation  to 
modern  learning.  But  Judaism  is  not  a missionary  reli- 
gion any  longer.  And  Judaism  has  not  made  itself 
responsible  for  the  introduction  of  learning  to  the  East. 

That  the  beginnings  of  modern  education  among  the 
nations  of  the  Orient  were  Christian,  as  I have  implied, 
does  not  admit  of  question.  The  Jesuit  fathers,  in  the 
first  generation  after  Francis  Xavier,  for  their  knowledge 
of  astronomy,  of  physics,  of  the  arts  and  crafts,  attained 
a position  at  the  court  of  the  Ming  dynasty,  and  later, 
under  the  Manchu  rule,  which  made  them  the  honored 
teachers  of  the  leaders  of  the  natives,  even  among  those 
who  cared  nothing  for  the  Jesuit’s  faith.  The  Jesuit 
education  suffered  in  the  decline  of  the  Christian  in- 
fluence and  with  the  antagonism  to  things  foreign  which 
soon  set  in.  But  the  impulse  was  never  wholly  lost. 
The  fathers  in  the  greatest  observatory  in  the  East,  the 
one  just  outside  Shanghai,  are  the  direct  inheritors  of 
Ricci  and  Verbiest.  The  Halle  Pietists,  who  went  out 
in  the  thirties  of  the  eighteenth  century  to  Danish  and 
Dutch  and  English  colonies,  were,  most  of  them,  univer- 
sity men.  They  placed  Europe  under  obligations  for  the 
observations  of  the  East,  as  truly  as  they  placed  the  East 
under  obligations  for  the  learning  and  the  Gospel  of  the 


RELIGIOUS  EDUCATION  IN  CHINA  281 


West.  Morrison  at  Canton  and  Macao  could  teach, 
translate,  make  grammars  and  dictionaries,  when  he 
could  not  preach.  He  waited  seven  years  for  his  first 
convert,  but  he  laid  a foundation  in  knowledge  of  the 
language  and  of  the  people  upon  w'hich  the  labors  of  all 
foreigners  in  China  must  rest.  You  may  search  the  an- 
nals of  the  British  East  India  Company  in  its  palmy 
days  in  vain  for  a trace  of  the  slightest  interest  in  edu- 
cation. It  had  no  more  interest  in  education  than  it  had 
in  evangelization,  and  that  was  none  at  all.  It  was  the 
missionaries  who,  often  under  the  most  trying  circum- 
stances, had  dotted  all  the  land  with  little  schools.  One 
reads  the  life  of  Alexander  DuflF  and  realizes  that  if  he 
had  not  been  the  great  educational  reformer  and  creator 
in  the  English  empire  of  India,  he  would  surely  have 
been  equally  great  in  some  like  task  in  Scotland,  Amer- 
ica, Australia,  or  whithersoever  he  had  turned  his  steps. 

It  was  an  American  missionary,  Verbeck,  who  first 
moved  the  Japanese  Government  to  send  youth  of  family 
and  prospects  to  be  educated  in  Europe  and  this  country, 
with  all  the  consequences  that  that  foreign  education  of 
Japanese  youth  has  had.  It  was  a boy  educated  in  a 
little  missionary  school  in  Kyoto,  Neesima,  who  was  so 
fired  by  what  he  had  learned  that  he  ran  away,  when  it 
was  death  to  be  caught  leaving  his  country.  He  was 
educated  at  Amherst  and  Andover,  and  went  back  to 
found  the  college,  the  Doshisha,  which  exerts  unmeasured 
influence  upon  the  Christian  education  of  Japan  to-day. 
Time  would  fail  me  to  tell  of  Lockhart,  and  the  begin- 
nings of  medical  work  in  the  midst  of  the  unspeakable 
miseries  of  China,  and  of  all  the  Chinese  youth  whom 
foreign  physicians  have  trained  under  the  old  tutorial 
system,  until  now,  at  last,  the  demand  has  grown  loud 
for  a true  university  school  of  medicine  of  the  first 
order  in  some  place  of  vantage  in  that  land. 


282 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


Such  were  typical  beginnings  of  the  connection  of 
education,  philanthropy,  charity,  reform,  with  the  Chris- 
tian religion  in  the  lands  of  which  we  speak. 

Concerning  China  one  may  begin  by  saying  that  in 
many  respects  China  stands  to-day  where  Japan  stood 
fifty  years  ago.  The  awakening  has  come.  The  realiza- 
tion is  abroad  that  if  China  is  to  maintain  her  national 
integrity  at  all,  she  can  do  so  only  by  pursuing  a policy 
exactly  the  opposite  of  that  policy  of  exclusion  of  things 
foreign  which  has  been  the  policy  of  a thousand  years. 
She  must  have  all  that  the  foreigner  has  to  teach,  and 
put  herself,  in  things  relating  to  war  and  diplomacy,  in 
those  of  administration  and  commerce,  in  general  educa- 
tion and  many  other  aspects  of  civilization,  squarely  upon 
the  basis  upon  which  the  great  powers  of  the  world 
stand.  In  no  other  way  can  she  endure  the  competition, 
or  escape  virtual  subjection  or  dismemberment.  She 
must  follow  the  course  which  Japan  has  pursued.  Little 
as  Chinese  love  the  Japanese,  they  are  willing  for  the 
time  to  learn  from  the  Japanese.  And,  for  obvious 
reasons,  the  Japanese  are  more  than  willing  to  be  the 
teachers  of  the  Chinese,  although  the  relations  between 
the  two  powers  are  likely  to  be  often  strained.  The 
progress  of  China  will  be  slower  than  has  been  that  of 
Japan.  The  vastness  of  the  territory,  the  inferiority  of 
the  means  of  communication,  the  lack  of  race-unity  and 
of  the  intense  national  sentiment  which  the  Japanese  have 
displayed,  the  fact  that  there  is  no  common  language,  the 
practically  autonomous  rule  of  the  viceroys  in  their 
several  provinces,  the  fact  that  the  central  Government 
is  felt  by  large  parts  of  the  Empire  to  be  an  alien  govern- 
ment, will  necessarily  have  this  consequence.  Above 
all,  there  is  in  China  no  such  minority  of  the  population 
with  the  instinct  of  leadership  as  that  which  even  the 
fallen  feudalism  furnished  to  Japan.  The  instinctive  at- 


RELIGIOUS  EDUCATION  IN  CHINA  283 


titude  of  the  Chinese  is  rather  that  of  the  repudiation  of 
leadership.  And  the  despotism  has,  until  recently,  pur- 
sued the  policy  of  eliminating  leaders,  so  soon  as  these 
began  to  assume  prominence. 

But  perhaps  the  most  significant  aspect  of  the  present 
situation  in  China  is  the  most  complete  discrediting,  for 
the  time  at  all  events,  of  the  traditional  education  in 
which  the  Chinese  have  been  so  confident  and  of  which 
they  have  been  so  proud. 

We  do  well  to  remind  ourselves  that  perhaps  there 
never  was  a nation  in  which  purely  intellectual  pre- 
eminence, according  to  the  accepted  standards,  was  held 
in  such  universal  esteem  as  in  China.  The  absence  of 
a landed  and  feudal  nobility  was  made  good  by  this 
leadership  of  the  learned.  In  China  the  upper  classes 
of  public  functionaries  have  for  fifteen  hundred  years 
been  chosen  by  competitive  civil-service  examinations  in 
the  branches  of  learning  held  in  reverence  in  the  land. 
The  learned  were  the  aristocrats.  Any  village  boy  might 
become  the  honored  man  of  the  village,  and  put  his  foot 
on  the  ladder  which  led  to  the  highest  position  in  the 
state — if  only  he  learned  enough.  Though  China  is,  in 
proportion  to  its  population,  so  poor  a country,  there  has 
always  been  great  wealth  in  China.  But  there  has  been 
no  aristocracy  of  wealth,  as  we  should  use  that  phrase. 
Officials  have,  indeed,  with  some  consistency,  added 
wealth  to  their  learning  when  office-holding  gave  them 
chance.  The  mere  possession  of  wealth  was  as  nothing 
to  the  possession  of  knowledge.  That  the  knowledge 
was  not  generally  of  the  sort  which  was  of  specific  use 
in  administration  was  indeed  true.  But  that  is  not  now 
my  point.  This  tradition  concerning  learning,  this 
reverence  for  the  intellectual  life,  is  the  one  thing  which 
I here  assert.  And  the  effect  of  this  upon  Chinese  life 
has  been  exalting.  The  ambition  for  education  has  been 


284 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


wonderful.  The  labor  of  youth  in  pursuit  of  education 
was  amazing.  The  attainments  of  men,  particularly  the 
feats  of  memory,  were  nothing  less  than  stupendous.  I 
have  heard  it  said  by  those  who  know  China  that  the 
colossal  mental  toil  of  the  scholar-class,  being  the  .sort 
of  toil  that  it  was,  has  actually  dulled  the  perception  and 
broken  the  power  of  intellect  of  some  men  of  this  type. 

But  the  attainments  were,  as  I have  intimated,  gener- 
ally of  the  sort  that  yielded  little  for  the  practical  life. 
They  had  almost  no  application  to  the  technique  of  ad- 
ministration. They  led  to  no  discoveries,  or  to  no  new 
applications  of  discoveries  when  these  had  been  chanced 
upon.  It  bound  men  to  the  old  round  instead  of  giving 
them  keenness  to  set-  forth  in  new  ways.  To  say  that 
the  civil-service  examinations  of  a nation  demanded 
knowledge  of  the  morals  of  Confucius  and  of  the  poetry 
of  the  golden  age,  of  the  opinions  of  the  commentators 
upon  literature,  and  never  touched  on  sciences  or  arts  or 
trades,  never  asked  questions  about  principles  of  taxation, 
theory  of  government,  languages,  geography  or  history, 
is  almost  to  turn  the  thing  into  ridicule.  That  a man 
could  be  a viceroy,  practically  absolute  in  power,  in  a 
province  periodically  inundated,  who  knew  nothing  about 
engineering,  and  who  could  not  in  the  wide  realm  lay 
hands  on  a man  who  did  know  anything  about  engineer- 
ing, has  in  it  something  pathetic.  One  is  fain  to  say  that 
the  contrast  of  all  this  labor  of  the  mind  with  the  suffer- 
ings of  hundreds  of  millions,  through  conditions  which 
could  easily  have  been  remedied  by  a little  application  of 
the  mind,  is  perhaps  the  most  extraordinary  contrast 
which  the  Chinese  Empire  presents. 

The  leaders  of  China,  and  the  people,  in  no  small  part, 
have  discovered  this  state  of  things.  They  have  turned 
against  the  old  system  of  education,  as  it  were,  in  a fury 
of  resentment  for  its  practical  ineffectiveness,  despite 


RELIGIOUS  EDUCATION  IN  CHINA  285 


all  the  toil  and  honor  given  it.  No  one  of  us  could 
speak  of  the  old  regime  with  more  biting  ridicule  than 
does  the  Chinaman  himself.  To  us  the  thing  arouses 
pity,  but  his  heart  is  on  fire.  The  spirit  of  the  practical 
possesses  him.  And  the  Chinese  is  a very  practical  man. 
You  might  not  think  so  from  what  I have  just  said. 
But  he  is.  That  he  could  be  so  practical,  so  outward  and 
present  in  his  view  of  things,  so  little  of  an  idealist  and 
dreamer  as  he  seems  to  be,  and  that  he  could,  neverthe- 
less, so  long  have  endured  and  reverenced  an  education 
which  led  to  so  little  that  was  outward  and  practical — 
that  constitutes  one  of  the  enigmas  of  which  China,  to 
the  mind  of  an  Occidental  man,  is  full. 

For  the  present,  therefore,  the  Chinese  have  overturned 
the  old  system  as  a thing  disgraced.  Edict  after  edict 
has  gone  forth  since  1898,  inaugurating  revolution  in  this 
sphere.  The  queer  little  sheds,  in  rows  of  hundreds,  in 
which  the  candidates  used  to  wet  their  brushes  and  rub 
their  shaven  heads  to  think  what  Mencius  had  said,  in 
order  that  they  might  get  petty  posts  of  chance  to 
squeeze  the  rice  transportation  up  the  Pei  Ho  from 
Tientsin,  are  rotting.  The  children  in  China  will  .soon 
begin  to  wonder  what  they  had  been  for.  The  blue- 
mantled  scholar,  now  in  middle  life,  must  look  out  upon 
the  ruins  of  his  world  much  as  the  inhabitant  of  Mes- 
sina looks  upon  the  new  Pompeii  which  Aetna  has  just 
made.  Young  China  cries  for  the  sciences  of  nature 
and  society,  for  the  technique  of  industries  and  crafts. 
Young  China  knows  that  the  wealth  of  China  is  as  noth- 
ing compared  with  what  will  be  the  wealth  of  China 
when  the  youth  of  China  who  know  how  to  get  that 
wealth  from  fields,  mines,  factories  and  commerce,  have 
but  had  the  time  to  be  bred  up.  He  proposes  that  the 
foreigner  shall  no  longer  get  that  wealth  as  heretofore. 
An  old  China  merchant  in  Boston  told  me  a few  days 


286 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


ago,  that  in  his  youth  it  was  the  normal  thing  for  a New 
England  man  to  spend  five  to  eight  years  in  China,  and 
then  to  retire,  his  fortune  made.  That  has  already 
ceased.  It  will  soon  be  difficult  to  be  believed.  Young 
China  calls  for  the  knowledge  of  military  and  naval  mat- 
ters, that  it  may  no  longer  be  a prey  to  invasion  and 
sign  away  its  national  soul  in  treaties  under  the  muzzle 
of  European  guns.  Young  China  asks  for  sciences  of 
government  and  theories  of  taxation,  principles  of  ad- 
ministration, to  put  an  end  to  the  reign  of  universal 
graft.  It  demands  constitution,  codes,  laws  which  will 
put  an  end  to  the  curse  of  extra-territoriality.  It  de- 
mands modern  languages,  particularly  English,  which  is 
everywhere  now  the  language  of  banking  and  of  trade. 

It  demands  everything  at  once — or  nearly  everything. 
For  it  is  not  just  now  demanding  religious  education. 
One  of  the  things  which  gives  us  food  for  reflection  in 
this  abandonment  of  the  ancient  education  is  just  this, 
that,  after  all,  Confucianism  was  a moral  system,  though 
hardly  a religion,  as  has  often  been  said.  But  it  was  a 
system  of  ethics.  It  dealt  with  conduct  and  life.  It 
taught  character.  And  no  one  can  live  in  China  without 
realizing  that  the  people  have  character.  Everywhere 
you  go,  and  from  the  highest  to  the  lowest,  you  are  im- 
pressed by  it.  They  have  had  ideals  of  life  and  stood 
for  them.  Of  course  there  are  criminals,  but  then  so 
there  are  in  Boston.  I know  that  the  governing  classes 
are  bottomlessly  corrupt.  But  let  us  not  forget  Pitts- 
burg and  San  Francisco.  And  the  corruption  in  China 
is  so  antique  and  universal  that  the  true  thing  to  say 
about  it  may  be  that  it  has  not  been  drawn  within  the 
range  of  their  moralizing,  as  slavery  had  not  come  within 
the  range  of  the  moralieing  of  George  Washington.  I 
know  that  they  are  largely  polygamists — that  is,  those  are 
who  can  afford  it.  But  then,  some  things  are  worse  than 


RELIGIOUS  EDUCATION  IN  CHINA  287 


acknowledged  and  public  polygamy,  and  one  of  these  is 
unacknowledged  and  private  polygamy,  I say  the  people 
have  character,  they  have  integrity,  they  have  honor,  they 
have  gentleness,  they  have  love  of  peace.  They  love 
children  and  home  and  fathers  and  mothers,  and  know 
much  about  happiness,  though  not  much  about  comfort. 
The  most  of  what  they  know  in  these  regards  they  owe 
to  Confucianism.  And  if  in  the  future  they  know  more 
about  comfort,  they  may  know  less  about  happiness,  like 
some  of  the  rest  of  us.  Particularly  will  this  be  the  case 
if,  having  repudiated  the  ethics  of  Confucius,  as  not  lead- 
ing to  comfort,  they  neither  recall  him  nor  put  anything 
in  his  place.  I have  used  the  word  practical.  But  noth- 
ing is  more  practical  than  morals.  And  this  is  a lesson 
which  the  Chinese  may  be  in  the  way  of  learning. 
Deeper  spirits  among  the  Chinese  themselves  are  now 
profoundly  concerned  at  the  lowering  of  the  moral  tone 
of  China  through  the  new  ideas  which  now  prevail  from 
the  breaking  up  of  the  old  ties,  without  the  forming,  as 
yet,  of  new  ones.  If  we  could  get  to  the  bottom  of  it,  I 
suspect  that  we  should  find  that  the  decree  of  1906,  con- 
ferring divine  honors  on  Confucius  and  commanding  his 
worship — an  edict  which  many  Chinese  themselves  ridi- 
cule as  utterly  inconsistent  with  Confucianism — is  an 
effort  to  regain  in  the  sphere  of  religious  sentiment  that 
influence  which  Confucius  has  lost  in  the  sphere  of 
ethical  instruction.  If  that  is  the  right  interpretation, 
then  this  curious  anachronism  by  which  a government 
decrees  a man  a god  is,  at  all  events,  a very  interesting 
thing. 

But  for  all  purposes  except  those  of  religious  and 
moral  instruction,  schools,  colleges  and  universities, 
schools  and  colleges  for  women,  public  instruction  even 
down  to  the  primary  grades  and  kindergartens,  are 
springing  up  on  every  hand.  Foreign  learning  is  every- 


288 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


where  the  vogue.  These  institutions  are  supported  by 
the  state  and  from  private  munificence.  There  seems  to 
be  plenty  of  money,  although  for  four  hundred  millions 
of  people,  in  the  end  it  will  take  a good  deal.  But  there 
is  a fatal  paucity  of  teachers.  How  should  it  be  other- 
wise? The  old  system  bred  none  of  the  sort  who  are 
now  in  demand.  The  new  system  must  have  time  to 
breed  up  its  own.  The  Japanese  teachers  in  China  are 
declared  to  be  generally  of  poor  quality,  and  distrusted. 
The  truth  is,  the  demand  is  still  too  great  at  home.  The 
Americans  and  Europeans  are  only  a drop  in  the  bucket ; 
though  if  the  youth  who  haunt  our  teachers’  agencies 
would  only  make  up  their  mind  to  spend  even  a few  ad- 
venturous and  interesting  years  in  a foreign  land,  they 
might  just  now  almost  have  their  choice  of  subjects  and 
location,  and  earn  a good  salary.  The  good  of  them 
might  do  a vastly  important  work.  I say  even  only  a 
few  years,  because  most  of  the  instruction  is  done  in 
English,  so  impossible  is  it  to  get  those  who  know 
Chinese,  and,  incidentally,  so  eager  are  the  Chinese  youth 
to  learn  English  as  well. 

But  here  lies  the  great  opportunity  of  our  missionary 
schools.  For  a half  century  there  has  been  more  or  less 
teaching  done  by  the  missions.  There  are  missionary 
colleges,  and  a whole  system  of  Christian  preparatory 
institutions,  and  schools  both  for  boys  and  girls,  up  and 
down  the  land.  There  are  theological  seminaries  and 
medical  schools.  There  are  two  hundred  thousand  Prot- 
estant communicants  in  China,  and  it  is  claimed  that 
there  are  a half  million  Roman  Catholics.  Mission 
schools  would  have  had  some  pupils  from  the  families 
of  the  Christian  Church.  But  the  Chinese  converts  have 
been  the  great  proportion  of  them,  poor.  But  the  num- 
ber of  children  of  non-Christian  parents  who  attended 
these  schools  has  always  been  very  small.  What  should 


RELIGIOUS  EDUCATION  IN  CHINA  289 


a Chinese  youth  have  done  with  a Western  education,  so 
long  as  the  old  system  held  unbroken  sway?  It  is  re- 
markable only  that  the  mission  schools  were  so  numer- 
ous and  so  good  as  they  were.  But  now,  as  in  a moment, 
the  attitude  of  the  Chinese  is  changed.  The  young  men 
who  can  do  the  things  which  the  Government  and  the 
corporations  now  demand,  are  those  who  have  graduated 
from  the  Christian  schools.  They  are  for  the  most  part 
Christian  youth,  because,  otherwise,  they  would  not  ten 
years  ago  have  graduated  from  those  schools.  The  edu- 
cation which  ten  years  ago  was  nearly  useless,  now  com- 
mands the  highest  places  and  can  dictate  its  price.  It 
is  said  that  the  postmasters  under  the  postal  system 
W'hich  the  maritime  customs  is  raising  up  are,  almost 
to  the  proportion  of  one-half,  throughout  the  whole  area 
yet  covered  by  that  system,  Christian  men,  though  the 
Protestant  Christians  (and  there  are  ten,  only,  missions 
in  which  there  has  been  much  care  of  education)  are 
hardly  a tenth  of  one  per  cent,  of  the  population  of  the 
land.  As  for  teaching,  youth  whom  the  mis.sion  schools 
thought  quite  incompetent  are  called  to  positions  of  a 
responsibility  which  may  easily  prove  far  beyond  their 
powers.  The  mission  schools  which  ten  years  ago  w^ere 
small  and  struggling,  to-day  could  be  filled  with  the  best 
youth  of  the  land,  had  they  ten  times  the  accommodation 
which  they  have.  In  the  Peking  Christian  girls’  schools, 
girls  of  princely  Manchu  families  are  kept  on  a waiting 
list,  when  ten  years  ago  the  daughters  of  peasants  re- 
ceived everything  gratis  if  they  would  come  at  all.  It 
will  not  always  be  thus.  But,  I repeat,  it  is  a great  op- 
portunity while  it  lasts. 

Nor  can  this  state  of  things  be  said  to  be  entirely  due 
to  the  fact  that  the  Christian  schools  furnish  an  educa- 
tion of  the  desired  sort  and  of  a quality  far  better  than 
that  which,  as  yet,  is  generally  given  in  the  state  school 


290 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


or  by  the  endowed  schools.  In  part  also,  Chinese  par- 
ents of  standing  appreciate  the  moral  perils  of  this  period 
of  transition  through  which  their  country  is  passing. 
They  understand  that  the  hold  of  the  old  moral  teaching 
is,  whether  rightly,  or  only  wrongly  and  unfortunately, 
weakened,  and  they  are  glad  to  have  their  youth  come 
under  the  influence  for  character  which  the  Christian 
schools  represent.  It  is  not  necessarily  true  that  they 
wish  them  to  become  Christians,  though  some  will  even 
go  so  far  as  to  say  that  they  are  willing  to  take  the 
risk  of  that.  Two  nieces  of  a former  high  Chinese 
official  well  known  in  Washington  were  sent  two  years 
ago  to  a mission  school.  This  man  has  defended  Con- 
fucianism in  a public  address  in  this  country,  and  has 
said  things  against  Christian  missions  some  of  which 
were  probably  true.  He  has  made  remarks  about 
the  morality  of  the  United  States,  in  spite  of  Christianity, 
which  were  beyond  any  question  true.  Yet  he  said  that 
he  did  not  care  if  the  girls  did  become  Christians,  so  long 
as  they  were  under  the  moral  influence  of  the  lady 
whom  he  named,  who  conducted  that  school.  The 
significance  of  this  situation  could  hardly  be  overrated. 
One  may  speak  in  absolute  respect  and  reverence  of  the 
influence  which  Confucianism  has  exerted  upon  the  char- 
acter of  the  Chinese  in  times  past.  I do  not  see  how 
anyone  can  help  doing  this,  though  he  may  also  see  its 
defects.  But  he  must  recognize  that  for  the  moment  its 
influence,  especially  upon  that  part  of  the  vast  popula- 
tion in  whose  hand  is  the  future,  is  disastrously  impaired. 
He  may  hope  that  that  influence  will  be  recovered ; that 
Confucianism  will  yet  show  that  power  of  adaptation  to 
modern  life  and  culture  which,  as  yet,  it  does  not  show. 
He  may  believe  that  it  will  be  improved  by  its  contact 
and  competition  with  Christianity,  as  religions  do  gain 
by  their  contacts  one  with  another.  All  this  may  be  true. 


RELIGIOUS  EDUCATION  IN  CHINA  291 


Yet  it  remains  that  the  power  of  Confucianism,  as  the 
source  of  moral  education  in  China,  for  the  present,  at 
all  events,  seems  broken. 

But  it  must  be  remembered  that  Confucianism  is  not 
a religion  in  the  same  sense  with  Christianity  or  even 
with  Mohammedanism.  It  is  on  its  own  showing  and 
in  the  experience  of  many  of  its  devoted  adherents  a 
system  of  ethics  rather  than  a religion.  There  is  no 
reason  why  Confucian  elements  should  not  enter  largely 
into  the  new  and  original  Chinese  interpretation  of 
Christianity  which  we  must  have  before  Christianity  can 
mean  much  to  the  Chinese.  Elements  of  Hellenic  moral 
speculation  entered  into  the  classic  interpretations  of 
Christianity  which  became  authoritative  after  the  patris- 
tic age.  On  the  other  hand,  Confucianism  might  be  in- 
dependently deepened,  widened  and  transformed  by  the 
truly  religious  element  which  is  so  strong  in  Christianity. 
The  recovery  of  the  power  of  Confucianism  may  be 
imagined  in  this  way.  For  no  person  of  insight  imagines 
that  Christianity  can  ever  become  the  religion  of  China 
in  the  Western  forms  in  which  missionaries  have  brought 
it  to  the  Chinese. 

Taoism  in  China  is  in  much  the  same  position  with 
Shintoism  in  Japan.  It  has  nothing  to  do  with  educa- 
tion. In  so  far  as  it  is  a nature-religion,  it  can  have  noth- 
ing to  do  with  education.  So  soon  as  education  has  any- 
thing to  do  with  it,  it  will  vanish  away. 

And  concerning  Buddhism  so  generous  a spirit  and 
so  true  a scholar  as  Estlin  Carpenter  has  said : “ It  has 
profoundly  transmuted  the  ancient  popular  religion.  It 
has  had  its  areas  of  reform,  its  protests  against  un- 
spiritual worship,  its  efforts  at  rationalism  and  simplicity, 
its  attempts  to  realize  a philosophic  mysticism.  But  it  is 
stricken  now  with  a colossal  decrepitude.  Other  forces 
have  entered  the  field.  Buddhism  and  Western  culture 


292  CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 

cannot  be  maintained  together.  The  Western  scholar  will 
study  Buddhism  for  its  profound  intellectual  and  moral 
interest.  He  will  investigate  its  origin  and  its  trans- 
formations. He  will  admire  much  of  its  ethical  teach- 
ing. He  will  follow  its  efforts  after  social  and  political 
reform,  and  its  splendid  enterprises  of  apostolic  toil. 
But  he  will  perceive  that  its  view  of  life  cannot  be  com- 
bined with  modern  knowledge.  He  will  be  convinced 
that  the  future  of  religion — if  he  admits  that  it  has  a 
future — must  be  sought  elsewhere.” 

Mohammedanism  is  a great  and  growing  power  in 
China.  But  it  is  no  less  an  alien  faith  in  China  than  is 
Christianity.  But  upon  the  particular  point  of  its  power 
of  adjustment  to  modern  culture,  and  of  assimilation  to 
that  which  seems  t6  be  the  coming  universal  basis  of 
civilization,  it  can  hardly  be  said  to  hold  a comparison 
with  Christianity.  Recent  events  in  Turkey  raise  this 
question  in  most  interesting  form.  Can  Islam  be  so  trans- 
formed as  to  become,  or  remain,  the  religion  of  a mod- 
ernized, civilized,  educated  Ottoman  state?  So  good  an 
observer  of  the  Moslem  world  as  Lord  Cromer  denies 
that  the  combination  is  ever  in  Anabia  or  Africa  impos- 
sible. However  that  may  be  in  the  lands  where  Islam 
is  native,  there  is  no  reason  to  suppose  Mohammedanism 
will  thus  transform  itself  in  China. 

When  all  is  said  it  would  appear  that  it  is  the  Chris- 
tian movement  in  China  which  must  be  looked  to,  and 
which  by  many  of  the  Chinese  themselves  is  now  looked 
to,  as  the  source  of  that  ethicizing  and  spiritualizing  of 
the  education  which,  for  its  own  sake,  is  so  ardently 
sought.  That  education  is  in  resistless  advance.  It 
must  work  incalculable  change,  and  without  any  ethiciz- 
ing and  spiritualizing  element,  it  must  be  of  mingled 
good  and  evil  just  as  the  same  education,  without  moral- 
izing influence,  has  so  clearly  been  with  us.  .^gain  let 


RELIGIOUS  EDUCATION  IN  CHINA  293 


me  ask  you  to  observe  how  far  I am  from  saying  that 
Christianity  is  in  the  Celestial  Kingdom  the  only  moraliz- 
ing force.  Such  an  assertion  would  seem  to  me  to  be 
the  essence  of  bigotry.  But  I am  iirofoundly  moved  as 
I perceive,  with  new  clearness,  how  much  Christianity 
stands  in  the  forefront,  how  transcendent  an  opportunity 
is  given  it,  how  great  a responsibility  is  laid  upon  it,  and 
how  great  would  be  the  disaster  should  it  fail. 

But  the  ease  and  naturalness  of  the  role  which  Chris- 
tianity in  China  is  now  called  upon  to  play,  may  be 
gathered  from  the  fact  that  the  Chinese  man  has  char- 
acteristically no  notion  of  the  exclusiveness  of  any  one 
religion.  Not  merely  is  he  used  to  the  fact  that  there 
are  many  religions,  each  with  many  adherents  in  his  own 
land.  But,  more  than  that,  he  has  looked  upon  them  all 
with  a certain  expectancy,  asking  for  the  particular 
virtue  each  may  have,  and  seeking  to  appropriate  those 
virtues  to  himself.  A great  lesson  is  the  Chinese  man 
to  most  Christians  here.  It  has  been  said  that  he  is  a 
poor  Chinaman  who  has  not  already  the  elements  of 
three  religions  in  him.  He  would  never  surprise  him- 
self if  he  saw  what  he  needed  in  a fourth.  There  are 
probably  few  families  in  China  which  do  not,  on  occasion, 
practice  Buddhist  rites.  The  state  religion  is  Confucian- 
ism, and  there  are  few  men  the  law'  of  whose  conduct  is 
not  Confucian  maxim.  The  masses  of  men  join  every- 
where in  Taoist  practices,  and  even  the  more  learned 
have  Taoist  superstitions  at  the  back  of  their  minds. 
One  recalls  that  charming  tale  from  the  “ Travels  ” of 
the  Abbe  Hue.  “ When  strangers  meet,”  he  says,  “ it 
is  our  custom  for  each  to  ask  his  neighbor : ‘ to  what 
exalted  religion  do  you  belong?’  The  first  is  perhaps 
a Confucian,  the  second  a Taoist,  the  third  a disciple  of 
the  Buddha.  Each  of  them  begins  a panegyric  on  the 
religion  not  his  own.  After  which  they  repeat  in  chorus : 


294  CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 

‘ Religions  are  many.  Reason  is  one.  We  are  all 
brothers.’  ” The  Christian  will  need  only  to  see  the  good 
in  other  religions  to  have  that  in  his  own  perceived.  He 
will  need  only  in  himself  to  possess,  to  illustrate,  to  im- 
part the  superior  good,  to  have  that  good  received  and 
gratefully  adopted.  But  a religion  which  intends  to 
make  earnest  with  the  fiction  of  its  own  exclusiveness,  is 
an  affront  to  the  noble  courtesy  of  the  Chinese  man.  A 
form  of  Christianity  which  lacks  power  of  adaptation  to 
modern  culture,  and  does  not  mean  to  be  the  spiritual- 
izing power  of  the  newest  civilization,  and  of  that  which 
will  be  newer  than  the  present  new,  had  better  stay  in 
America,  where  its  traditions  may  keep  it  alive  for  a 
while.  In  old  China  there  is  no  such  tradition.  In  new 
China  there  will  be  still  less  place  for  it. 


XVI 


THE  CHINESE  IN  HAWAII— AN  EXAMPLE  OF 
SUCCESSFUL  ASSIMILATION 

Introduction 

Geographically  and  politically,  Hawaii  has  little  in 
common  with  the  peoples  who  are  the  subject  of  study  in 
this  conference.  The  map  shows  that  Hawaii  is  in  the 
center  of  the  North  Pacific,  but  she  faces  towards  the 
Occident.  All  of  her  political  affiliations  are  with  the 
United  States,  of  which  she  forms  an  integral  part. 

In  comparison  with  India  with  her  starving  people, 
with  the  Philippines  whose  future  rises  to  vex  us,  with 
China  and  her  awakening  millions,  with  bewildered  Korea 
governed  by  an  alien  hand,  and  even  with  Japan  who 
leads  the  Orient,  Hawaii  has  no  problems.  Even  though 
the  little  territory  with  her  170,000  people  has  approxi- 
mately 72,000  Japanese  and  18,000  Chinese  as  well  as 
many  Koreans,  Indians  and  Filipinos,  more  than  55  per 
cent.  Orientals,  there  is  no  race  question. 

Hawaii,  rather,  is  a laboratory  in  which  experiments 
in  race  combinations  and  development  are  being  con- 
ducted on  a large  scale  and  in  a variety  of  ways.  It  may 
be  said  that  these  experiments,  carried  on  as  they  are  by 
that  master  of  science — Nature — have  been  most  success- 
ful. Perhaps  Hawaii’s  place  in  this  conference  is  to 
call  attention  to  the  solution — successful  solution  as  we 
think — of  some  of  the  problems  which  are  now  harassing 
our  statesmen  and  administrators  in  the  Philippines. 
Certainly  a study  of  the  methods  and  the  results  of  our 

295 


2Q6 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


treatment  of  the  Oriental  would  throw  a strong  light  on 
any  policy  which  has  in  view  the  “ benevolent  assimila- 
tion ” of  any  people. 

This  paper  deals  only  with  the  Chinese,  the  conditions 
of  whose  residence  in  the  Islands  have  made  a study  of 
them  particularly  profitable.  They  have  been  in  the 
Islands  in  considerable  numbers  for  about  a half  cen- 
tury ; in  many  cases,  though  possibly  not  so  many  as  we 
would  wish,  they  brought  their  wives  with  them,  thus 
establishing  families ; their  children  have  attended  the 
schools  in  large  enough  numbers  and  for  a sufficient 
length  of  time  to  give  a basis  for  a satisfactory  judg- 
ment of  them ; and  finally  for  about  ten  years  further 
additions  to  their  numbers  from  the  home  country  have 
been  prohibited  by  Federal  law,  so  that  there  is  a happy 
absence  of  those  disturbances  caused  by  the  influx  of 
newcomers  who  not  only  bring  raw  material  into  the 
crucible,  but  also  help  to  keep  alive  the  customs  and 
traditions  of  the  fatherland. 

Hawaii  affords  a good  example  of  the  “ family  of 
races.”  Here  on  these  small  islands  of  the  sea  are  gath- 
ered in  numbers,  people  from  more  than  a dozen  differ- 
ent nationalities.  Here  not  only  do  they  live  quietly  and 
happily  without  any  “ burning  issues,”  but  also  they  give 
in  their  family  life  sociological  and  ethnological  sugges- 
tions which  the  wisest  may  profitably  study.  It  is  pos- 
sible that,  in  spite  of  her  diminutive  size  and  the  con- 
sequent smallness  of  the  numbers  of  people  who  may  be 
studied,  Hawaii  may  have  a lesson  for  the  nations  to 
heed. 


First  Coming 

It  is  probable  that  there  were  Chinese  in  Hawaii 
in  very  early  times.  In  Vancouver’s  Voyages  there  is 
mention  of  an  American  trader  named  Metcalf  who  in 


THE  CHINESE  IN  HAWAII 


297 


the  Eleanor,  with  a crew  of  fifty-five,  forty-five  of  whom 
were  Chinese,  touched  at  Maui  and  Hawaii  in  1789.  In 
Vancouver’s  memoirs  is  also  a record  of  one  China- 
man among  the  foreigners  in  the  Islands  in  1794.  Eight 
years  later  in  1802  came  a Chinaman  with  a stone  sugar 
mill,  the  farsighted  forerunner  of  a great  industry.  His 
attempt  to  establish  a sugar  plantation  was  a failure 
largely  owing  to  the  unfavorable  natural  conditions  of 
the  Island  of  Lanai,  where  he  first  set  up  his  mill. 

But  the  earliest  connection  of  importance  between 
these  small  islands  of  the  sea  and  the  great  Empire  came 
through  trade.  Hawaii  sent  the  sandalwood,  much 
sought  for  by  the  fastidious  Oriental,  and  received  in 
return  the  more  necessary  furniture  and  clothing.  Tan 
Heong  San — sandalwood  country — as  the  Chinese  called 
Hawaii,  had  many  attractions  for  them.  They  found 
many  products  which  had  a ready  sale  in  China ; they 
saw  much  land  that  they  could  cultivate,  for  the  taro 
patches  of  the  native  Hawaiian  were  admirably  adapted 
to  the  raising  of  ricq. 

Up  to  1852,  fifty-five  Chinese  had  come  to  the  Islands; 
some  of  these  intermarried  with  the  natives;  some  had 
been  admitted  to  citizenship  possibly  in  large  measure 
due  to  the  law  which  forbade  the  natives  to  marry  for- 
eigners who  had  not  taken  the  oath  of  allegiance  and 
declared  an  intention  to  remain  on  the  Islands  per- 
manently. Before  1865  the  number  of  Chinese  had  not 
largely  increased,  and  this  number  fluctuated  consider- 
ably, for,  while  there  were  a few  arrivals,  a relatively 
large  number  were  among  those  who  went  to  California 
in  1849-1850  in  search  for  gold. 

But  in  1865  as  a result  of  the  growth  of  the  sugar 
industry  and  the  demand  for  labor.  Dr.  William  Hille- 
brand  was  commissioned  as  Royal  Commissioner  of  Im- 
migration and  sent  to  China  and  the  East  Indies  in  a 


298  CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


search  for  laborers.  After  an  exhaustive  study  of  the 
sources  of  labor  supply,  Dr.  Hillebrand  made  most  of 
his  selections  at  Hong  Kong.  He  used  great  care  in 
picking  eligible  laborers  and  went  so  far  even  as  to  try 
to  learn  the  character  and  fitness  of  each  individual 
whom  he  was  to  bring  to  Hawaii.  As  a result,  in 
September,  1865,  199  men,  43  women  and  8 children 
arrived  at  Honolulu  as  agricultural  laborers.  As  far  as 
is  known,  this  is  the  first  assisted  immigration  of  Chinese 
to  Hawaii.  As,  in  attempts  to  solve  the  ever-vexing 
labor  problem  in  Hawaii,  the  policy  of  assisted  immigra- 
tion has  been  carried  to  an  extent  hardly  attempted  in 
any  other  place,  it  may  be  interesting  to  note  in  passing 
the  terms  on  which  these  original  immigrants  came. 
They  were  to  have  free  passage  from  China ; four  dollars 
per  month  wages;  comfortable  lodgings,  food,  clothing 
and  free  medical  service  and  Sunday  and  three  Chinese 
holidays.  They  were  bound  to  service  for  five  years,  but 
at  the  expiration  of  that  time  they  were  free  to  return 
to  China  or  to  stay  under  a new  contract  or  leave  the 
plantation.  It  was  understood  that  under  the  Hawaiian 
laws  the  immigrant  laborer  might  appeal  to  the  courts 
if  the  employer  treated  him  with  cruelty  and  that  he 
was  in  a sense  under  the  protection  of  the  government 
which  had  been  instrumental  in  bringing  him  to  the 
Islands. 


Numbers 

From  these  beginnings  the  Chinese  population  grew 
until  the  census  of  1900  recorded  25,762.  Up  to  1900, 
this  growth  had  been  quite  steady.  In  1866,  there  were 
370;  in  1872,  1,938;  in  1884,  17,9371  in  1890,  15,301. 
From  the  figures  of  25,762  for  1900  there  has  been  a 
steady  decline  in  the  last  decade.  An  unofficial  count 
taken  for  the  use  of  the  United  Chinese  Society,  June 


THE  CHINESE  IN  HAWAII 


299 


30,  1903,  found  only  21,961.  The  estimate  of  the  num- 
ber of  Chinese  now  in  Hawaii,  based  on  the  most  reli- 
able sources  of  information,  in  the  Governor’s  report  for 
1908,  is  only  i8,ooo.  This  decrease  is  due  to  the  ex- 
clusion of  Chinese  by  Federal  law  and  to  departures, 
particularly  of  the  older  Chinese.  From  1900  to  1908  the 
number  of  Chinese  children  in  the  schools  increased  from 
1,289  to  2,797.  Unless  then  there  is  a large  increase  in 
the  number  of  those  who  go  home  to  China,  which  is  not 
to  be  reasonably  expected,  the  number  of  births  will  off- 
set the  departures. 

Economic  Value 

The  Chinaman’s  economic  value  has  always  given  him 
a privileged  position  in  Hawaii  which  his  obedience  to 
law,  adaptability  to  existing  conditions  and  probity  in 
business  have  done  much  to  sustain.  He  has  always  had 
a high  place  as  a laborer  on  the  plantations.  In  the  low- 
lands and  the  valleys  he  reclaimed  unproductive  lands 
and  made  them  yield  incomes  to  the  native  owners  and 
taxes  to  the  government.  He  converted  into  rice  fields 
the  taro  lands,  gradually  going  into  disuse  through  the 
disappearance  of  the  native.  He  brought  with  him  a 
constitution  inured  to  this  arduous  labor  in  the  wet  rice 
fields.  He  used  at  first  the  caribou  and  primitive  in- 
struments of  agriculture  of  his  native  land,  but  these 
among  the  more  progressive  are  giving  way  to  modern 
methods.  The  dilapidated  fish  ponds  he  restored.  He 
established  small  stores  both  in  the  remote  and  in  the 
settled  districts  and  gained  the  confidence  and  the  trade 
of  the  natives. 

This  picture  of  industrious  contentment  has  made 
many  a visitor  from  California  exclaim  over  the  contrast 
between  the  Chinese  in  Hawaii  and  the  kind  that  has 
settled  in  California.  But  the  man  is  the  same,  often 


300 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


coming  from  the  same  village  and  district,  and  even  from 
the  same  family,  but  the  difference  is  that  the  best  has 
been  drawn  out  in  Hawaii,  while  the  sister  Common- 
wealth, by  repression  and  cruelty,  has  developed  his  baser 
qualities.  While  he  has  been  subject  to  revilings  and 
physical  abuse  in  California,  in  Hawaii  he  has  had  op- 
portunities for  labor  and  self-improvement,  spiritually 
and  intellectually,  as  well  as  materially  and  financially. 
The  generous  treatment  given  him  by  missionaries  in 
private  schools  was  continued  in  the  public  schools. 
Under  conditions  favorable  to  his  best  development,  he 
has  lived  on  terms  of  pleasant  amity,  both  receiving  and 
giving  in  return. 

Under  their  diligent  and  shrewd  management,  the  rice 
industry  prospered.  Many  Chinese  became  wealthy 
planters.  At  one  time  more  than  5,000  of  this  nationality 
were  at  work  in  the  rice  fields.  But  the  industry  fell  on 
evil  days.  Rent  went  up  and  owing  to  the  unwillingness 
of  the  Japanese  to  eat  any  but  the  Japan-grown  rice,  the 
demand  went  down. 

Nearly  all  the  vegetables  are  grown  by  the  Chinese. 
The  “ pake  ” vegetable  man,  carrying  an  almost  unbeliev- 
ably heavy  load  on  his  yoke  and  pole  with  his  bobbing 
and  swaying  motion,  comes  every  morning  to  the  kitchen 
door  to  the  great  convenience  of  the  house-wife.  He  has 
made  the  ideal  servant,  and  now  in  the  days  of  the  less 
reliable  Japanese  house  servants,  those  families  that  still 
retain  their  faithful  old  Chinese  cook  are  much  envied 
by  their  neighbors. 

The  plantations  have  been  quite  generally  strong  in 
their  expressions  of  approval  of  the  Chinese  as  a laborer. 
He  is  steady  and  reliable.  In  this  as  in  everything  else, 
he  is  absolutely  honorable.  He  seldom  throws  up  a con- 
tract however  unprofitable.  On  account  of  their  gre- 
garious instincts,  they  are  willing  to  live  in  barracks, 


THE  CHINESE  IN  HAWAII 


301 ' 


roomy  but  lacking  in  domesticity,  which  other  laborers 
refuse  to  have.  But  now  not  more  than  5,000  Chinese 
work  on  the  plantations.  They  have  gone  into  other 
labor  or  have  left  the  Islands. 


Restriction 

In  the  ’8o’s,  doubts  as  to  the  wisdom  of  the  continued 
large  importation  of  Chinese  arose  in  the  minds  of  some 
who  were  made  apprehensive  by  the  diminution  of  the 
native  population  and  by  the  small  number  of  resident 
whites.  In  1887  a law  was  passed,  subsequently 
amended  in  1888,  which  permitted  the  admission  only  of 
( I ) Chinese  women  and  children  with  relatives  in 
Hawaii,  clergymen,  merchants  and  teachers  residing  in 
the  Islands.  (2)  Under  a special  permit,  merchants  and 
travelers  who  were  allowed  to  remain  six  months  under 
bonds.  (3)  A limited  number  of  field-hands  and 
domestic  servants  who  had  a fixed  residence  and  whose 
employers  deposited  a certain  portion  of  their  wages  each 
month  with  the  government  to  make  up  a fund  for  their 
return  passage  after  the  expiration  of  their  contract. 
The  number  of  Chinese,  however,  in  spite  of  these  regu- 
lations, increased,  absolutely  and  relatively  to  the  Japa- 
nese, up  to  1896.  By  the  Constitution  of  1887,  Chinese 
were  prohibited  from  voting  for  members  of  the  Legisla- 
ture. 

By  the  organic  act  for  Hawaii,  Congress  applied  to 
the  territory  the  Chinese  exclusion  act  as  well  as  the 
Federal  immigration  and  contract  labor  laws.  On  ac- 
count of  the  difficulties  and  expense  of  importing 
Caucasians  from  Europe  under  the  labor  law,  there  w'as, 
especially  a few  years  ago,  a very  strong  feeling  in 
Hawaii  that  the  planters  should  be  allowed  to  import 
Chinese  field-hands,  for  agricultural  purposes  only,  under 


302 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


the  restrictions  imposed  by  the  local  laws  of  1887-8.  It 
was  urged  that  this  would  not  affect  the  mainland  in  the 
least,  as  no  Chinese  are  allowed  to  land  there  anyway,  and 
that  it  would  benefit  Hawaii  without  injury  to  any  other 
commonwealth.  This  was  favored  by  the  planters  who 
would  gain  financially  by  the  cheap  labor,  and  who 
needed  the  presence  of  other  laborers  to  discipline  the 
assertive  and  somewhat  unmanageable  Japanese  laborer 
and  by  those  who  reasoned  that  cheap  field  labor,  bring- 
ing prosperity  to  the  chief  industry,  would  bring  pros- 
perity to  the  Islands  as  a whole ; it  was  opposed  by  some 
natives  and  by  some  whites  who  were  opposed  to  any 
measure  to  increase  the  Oriental  population,  by  the 
artisans  and  mechanics,  many  of  them  on  principle,  and 
all  on  the  fear  that  the  coming  of  the  Chinese  would  re- 
lease Japanese  at  work  on  the  plantations  who  would  in- 
crease the  competition  in  trades  and  semi-.skilled  occupa- 
tions with  the  cheap-working  and  cheap-living  Asiatics. 

A compromise  has  been  suggested  in  the  shape  of  a 
law  which  would  admit  a restricted  number  of  Chinese 
for  a limited  term  of  years  as  field-hands,  and  which 
would  at  the  same  time  restrict  the  competition  of 
Orientals  with  white  men  in  certain  skilled  occupations 
on  the  plantations.  It  is  pointed  out  that  this  arrange- 
ment, by  reducing  the  number  of  Japanese  laborers, 
would  also  reduce  the  number  of  Japanese  in  secondary 
pursuits  as  store-keepers,  mechanics  and  similar  occupa- 
tions, while  the  Chinese  secondary  population  would  not 
increase. 

But  the  difficulties  of  framing  any  law  that  would  be 
satisfactory  to  both  parties,  and  the  practical  impos- 
sibility of  getting  such  a law  passed  by  Congress,  are  now 
generally  recognized.  As  far  as  inducing  labor  to  come 
to  Hawaii  is  concerned,  the  whole  attention  of  the  Ter- 
ritory and  of  the  planters  is  directed  towards  getting 


THE  CHINESE  IN  HAWAII  303 

Filipinos  or  white  laborers  from  Europe  or  Asia  who  will 
become  “ Americanized.” 


Sociological  Influences  and  Results 

As  members  of  the  community,  receiving  impressions 
from  the  religious  and  social  forces  and  reacting  upon 
them,  the  Chinese  in  Hawaii  are  an  interesting  study. 
The  experience  of  the  island  Territory  has  been  so  dif- 
ferent from  that  of  California,  whose  vigorous  denuncia- 
tions of  the  Chinaman  have  so  molded  opinions  of  him 
quite  generally,  that  this  experience  is  worth  giving,  for 
it  puts  the  much-abused  Celestial  in  a pleasanter  light. 
It  has  to  be  remembered  too  that  the  proportion  of 
Chinese  in  Hawaii  has  always  been  larger  than  in  Cali- 
fornia, for,  while  the  Chinese  in  California  probably  never 
exceeded  100,000,  which  made  their  proportion  very 
small  in  that  populous  State,  Hawaii  with  her  170,000 
people  has  had  27,000  Chinese  at  one  time.  A few  years 
ago  when  there  were  about  10,000  Chinese  in  San  Fran- 
cisco, that  hot-bed  of  Chinese  opposition,  there  were  only 
149  Chinese  children  in  the  public  schools. 

A well-known  Californian  voices  these  practices  and 
characteristics  of  the  Chinese  as  grounds  for  their  ex- 
clusion : 

“Traffic  in  human  flesh,  domestic  life  which  renders 
a home  impossible,  a desire  for  only  that  knowledge 
which  may  be  at  once  coined  into  dollars,  a contempt  for 
our  religion  as  new,  novel  and  without  substantial  basis, 
and  no  idea  of  the  meaning  of  law  other  than  as  a regu- 
lation to  be  evaded  by  cunning  or  by  bribery.” 

This  view  of  him  is  not  borne  out  by  a study  of  him 
in  Hawaii,  where  he  has  had  the  opportunity  to  develop 
and  encouragement,  born  of  kindness  and  consideration, 
in  the  development.  Hawaii  flatters  herself  that  she  has 


304  CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 

formed  the  correct  estimate  of  this  mysterious  man  from 
the  East. 

It  is  doubtful  if  the  Chinese  traffic  more  in  human 
flesh  than  other  nationalities.  Americans  do  not  have 
far  to  go  to  find  illustrations  of  the  sale  of  human  beings, 
body  and  soul,  in  a nefarious  traffic.  The  Chinese  may 
not  thus  be  freely  indicted.  It  is  certain  that  other 
nationalities  have  shown  in  Hawaii  greater  looseness  of 
living.  Chinese  women  in  general  bear  a reputation  for 
strict  virtue  and  chastity  which  is  hardly  approached  by 
any  similar  nationality. 

It  cannot  be  denied  that  he  lives  by  himself.  But  he 
has  been  driven  to  it  in  self-protection.  Wherever  he 
goes  he  is  greeted  with  jeers  if  not  with  stones.  One 
of  the  first  sights  that  I saw  on  my  first  visit  to  Worcester 
several  years  ago  was  a crowd  of  boys  chasing  and 
stoning  a fleeing  Chinese  laundryman.  Convenience  too 
demands  that  they  live  together  until  they  can  become 
fully  acquainted  with  Occidental  ways. 

In  Honolulu  a part  of  the  city  is  known  as  Chinatown, 
where  are  most  of  the  Chinese  stores  and  lodging  houses. 
But  it  is  unlike  the  Chinatown  of  San  Francisco.  The 
homes  of  the  Chinese  are  scattered  over  the  city  and 
country.  A dip  into  statistics  shows  that  by  the  census 
of  1900  for  the  25,762  Chinese  in  Hawaii,  there  were 
3,247  homes,  of  which  393  or  12  per  cent,  were  owned. 
There  were  6,482  homes  for  Caucasians,  with  1,840  or 
28  per  cent,  owned.  This  showing  compares  favorably 
with  that  of  most  foreign  nationalities  in  this  city  or 
any  other  city.  Many  of  these  homes  are  mere  shacks, 
but  many  of  them,  on  the  other  hand,  are  among  the  best 
in  the  Islands.  In  fact,  the  Chinaman  has  a reputation 
as  a home-builder  and  provider  that  makes  him  a popular 
husband  among  the  Hawaiian  women. 


THE  CHINESE  IN  HAWAII 


305 


The  marriage  records  show  that  he  is  cosmopolitan  in 
his  marital  relations.  He  has  married  into  many  nation- 
alities. The  children  of  the  Chinese-Haw'aiian  marriages 
seem  to  combine  the  industry,  frugality  and  persever- 
ance of  the  Chinese  stock  and  the  good  nature  and 
physical  characteristics  of  the  Hawaiian.  They  rank 
high  among  mixed  peoples.  The  Chinese  parent  stock 
noticeably  predominates. 

The  pure-blooded  Chinese  children  have  made  fine 
records  in  school  and  labor.  The  Chinese  parents  want 
their  children  to  have  the  very  best  education  that  they 
can  afford,  and  the  children  of  the  poorest  families  are 
diligent  searchers  after  knowledge.  They  show  such  in- 
dustry and  perseverance  in  their  study  as  to  place  them 
in  the  front  rank  of  pupils  in  the  schools.  Teachers  are 
unanimous  in  praise  of  them.  The  chief  difficulty  is  to 
restrain  them  to  such  moderation  in  their  study  as  good 
health  requires.  They  lack  possibly  in  originality. 

Statistics,  showing  2,096  pure-blooded  Chinese  pupils 
and  eight  teachers  in  the  public  schools  and  701  pupils 
and  12  teachers  in  the  private  schools,  do  not  begin  to 
tell  the  story.  Its  full  significance  is  appreciated  only 
when  there  is  complete  understanding  of  their  great 
desire  for  knowledge,  for  which  they  wnll  make  any 
sacrifices,  and  their  ambition  for  higher  education,  which 
is  a goal  calling  forth  almost  superhuman  efforts.  The 
schools  give  every  encouragement  to  those  who  have 
ability  and  the  means  to  advance.  The  Mills  Institute, 
a missionary  school  for  Orientals,  has  had  a large  in- 
fluence which  it  hopes  to  continue  and  expand  under  the 
name  of  the  Mid-Pacific  Institute,  in  a new  building  now 
being  erected  for  it.  Other  private  and  church  schools 
have  had  large  numbers  of  Chinese.  Another  significant 
factor  which  has  been  potent  is  the  Chinese  Students’ 


3o6 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


Alliance,  an  organization  of  Chinese  young  men  and 
women  who  have  attended  schools  of  high  school  grade, 
and  a branch  of  the  Chinese  Students’  Federation.  A 
large  number  of  Chinese  boys  and  girls  after  carrying 
off  scholastic  honors  in  the  local  schools  go  to  the  main- 
land colleges,  where  they  do  well,  in  comparison  with  the 
students  educated  in  China  and  Japan,  being  especially 
noticeable  for  their  English,  both  spoken  and  written. 
In  employment  outside  of  agricultural  pursuits,  they 
show  the  same  qualities.  They  perform  with  fidelity 
assigned  tasks,  but  they  have  not  yet  shown  the  disposi- 
tion and  the  power,  except  possibly  in  one  or  two  in- 
stances, to  rise  to  positions  requiring  breadth  of  con- 
ception and  initiative.  These  may  come  with  greater 
training  and  experience. 

The  view  of  the  public  school  official  is  well  expressed 
by  Principal  Scott  of  the  Honolulu  High  School  in  a 
report  on  the  subject  prepared  for  and  printed  in  a 
recent  report  of  the  Governor  to  the  Secretary  of  the 
Interior,  from  which  I quote : 


"Making  American  Citizens 

“ According  to  the  report  of  the  Superintendent  of 
Public  Instruction  for  the  past  year,  there  were  over 
4,000  Japanese  and  Chinese  children  in  the  public  schools 
of  this  Territory,  nearly  equaling  in  number  the 
Hawaiian  children.  The  male  children  of  these  two 
races  born  here  will  be  American  citizens  if  they  choose 
to  remain  after  their  majority,  and  will  become  voters 
and  officeholders.  The  question  is,  What  instrumentali- 
ties can  be  brought  to  bear  upon  them  that  will  make 
them  good  American  citizens?  Is  it  possible  for  the 
State  and  society  to  take  the  children  of  races  so  diverse 
from  Americans  as  are  the  Japanese  and  Chinese  and 


THE  CHINESE  IN  HAWAII  307 

by  some  educational,  social,  and  political  crucible,  fuse 
them  and  turn  them  out  homogeneous  Americans? 

“ This  is  the  practical  and  very  interesting  problem 
that  presents  itself  to  the  people  of  this  Territory,  the 
solution  of  which  is  sought  by  both  statesmen  and  social 
philosophers.  There  is  no  better  place  than  Hawaii  for 
an  experiment  of  this  kind.  The  country  is  small  in 
area.  The  population  is  limited.  The  Orientals  come 
into  daily  contact  with  Americans,  men  and  women,  of 
light  and  leading  in  every  relation  of  life.  The  old  mis- 
sionary set  the  example,  which  the  man  of  business  and 
of  industry  has,  to  a large  e.xtent,  followed.  The  Chinese 
have  always  been  treated  here  in  decided  contrast  with 
the  treatment  they  have  received  in  California.  By  the 
advice  of  the  early  missionaries  and  through  their  or- 
ganizing power,  the  King  and  Legislature  made  pro- 
vision for  an  excellent  system  of  public  schools.  That 
system,  modernized  and  improved,  is  the  fundamental 
agency  by  which  the  children  of  the  diverse  nationalities 
of  Hawaii  are  to  be  trained,  and  transfused  into  Amer- 
ican citizenship. 

“Can  it  be  done?  The  most  thoughtful  educators  of 
this  Territory  answer,  emphatically,  yes.  It  is  being 
done  now.  It  has  been  done.  Both  Chinese  and  Japa- 
nese born  and  nurtured  in  Hawaii  are  among  our  best 
citizens.  They  hold  and  exercise  the  franchise.  They 
are  industrious,  accumulate  property,  are  charitable  and 
law-abiding.” 

The  high  estimate  in  which  the  Chinese  students  are 
held  is  sympathetically  and  vigorously  expressed  in  a 
symposium  of  opinions  of  them,  by  the  principals  of  the 
leading  public  and  private  schools,  taken  from  an  article 
by  Francis  W.  Damon  in  the  New  York  Independent. 
The  article  says,  in  part: 

“ The  following  statements  from  the  principals  of  the 


3o8 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


leading  public  schools  of  Honolulu,  men  and  women  of 
experience  and  careful  judgment,  are  of  much  interest 
and  value.”  One  writes: 

“ In  our  school  of  over  six  hundred  pupils,  the  in- 
fluence of  the  Chinese  boys  and  girls,  who  comprise  one- 
fourth  of  our  enrollment,  is  most  beneficially  felt.  They 
set  a high  standard  in  faithful  scholarship,  earnestness 
of  purpose,  gentleness  of  demeanor  toward  their  fellow 
students  and  respectful  and  grateful  appreciation  toward 
their  teachers.” 

The  statement  from  another  is  as  follows : 

“ The  Chinese  children  from  six  years  old  to  sixteen 
are  satisfactory  to  the  teachers  in  every  way.  They  are 
studious  and  attentive,  very  rarely  making  an  infrac- 
tion of  discipline.  Certainly  the  virtue  of  gratitude  pre- 
vails among  them  more  than  in  any  other  race  and  their 
habits  are  an  incentive  to  the  progress  of  their  fellow 
students.  In  this  particular  school  the  Chinese  children 
have  decreased  in  numbers  in  the  past  few  years  and 
those  who  attend  are  assimilating  with  the  others  in  so 
rapid  a manner  that  individuality  is  not  noticed  to  the 
degree  it  was  formerly.” 

Still  another  statement  runs  as  follows: 

“ In  the  schoolroom  the  Chinese  girls  and  boys  show  a 
thirst  for  knowledge  and  an  enthusiasm  which  is  most 
encouraging  to  the  teacher.  They  especially  like  any 
study  which  has  definite  results,  as  mathematics. 

“ On  the  playground  the  boys  show  a decided  interest 
in  sports.  The  girls,  who  are  still  handicapped  by  the 
restraint  of  their  mothers’  narrow  lives,  are  shy  about 
entering  games.  However,  when  they  do  throw  aside 
their  natural  bashfulness  and  decide  to  have  some  fun 
and  enjoyment  as  the  boys  do,  the  teacher  feels  that  they 
are  taking  great  strides  toward  freedom.” 

In  the  more  advanced  schools  their  record  is  equally 


THE  CHINESE  IN  HAWAII 


309 


satisfactory.  In  the  Hicjh  School  of  Honolulu,  where 
there  are  a number  of  Chinese  students  at  the  present 
time,  the  principal  gladly  pays  them  this  fine  tribute: 

“ As  students  I find  the  Chinese  young  men  truthful, 
persistent,  courteous  to  their  companions  and  deferential 
to  their  teachers.  I believe  that  their  average  capacity 
is  equal  to  that  of  their  white  brethren.  Their  power  of 
application  far  exceeds  that  of  American  youth.  This 
power,  coupled  with  their  good  conduct,  makes  them 
favorites  with  all  teachers.” 

The  principal  of  the  Normal  School,  one  of  our  most 
important  and  progressive  institutions,  says : 

“ Since  the  organization  of  the  Normal  School  in  1895 
there  have  been  enrolled  fifty-seven  pupils  of  Chinese  or 
part  Chinese  extraction.  Of  this  number,  not  more  than 
10  per  cent,  have  failed  either  in  the  academic  or  profes- 
sional work  of  the  school.  There  are  at  the  present  time 
nineteen  Chinese  or  part  Chinese  connected  with  the 
Training  School. 

“ In  the  work  of  teaching,  the  Chinese  cadet  is 
thorough  in  the  preparation  of  his  work,  prompt  in  the 
discharge  of  his  duties,  but  possibly  a little  harsh  in  his 
bearing  toward  the  pupils  under  his  care.  This  fault, 
however,  largely  disappears  with  training.  The  Chinese 
Hawaiian  cadet  does  good  work  in  all  departments  of  the 
school,  but  has  a special  aptitude  for  teaching.  His  ap- 
pearance before  the  class  is  good,  and  the  children  give 
him  a willing  obedience.  In  nature  study,  music  and 
drawing  he  is  especially  strong.  As  an  assistant  teacher 
he  is  willing  and  capable.” 

My  own  judgment  of  them,  given  at  that  time,  I am 
now  glad  to  emphasize  by  repeating  it  here : 

“ For  many  years  Oahu  College,  which  is  primarily  a 
school  for  white  children,  but  which  accepts  students  of 
other  nationalities  who  are  able  to  meet  our  standards, 


310 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


has  had  a limited  and  somewhat  selected  number  of 
Chinese  young  men  and  young  women  among  its 
students.  They  have  taken  the  regular  courses,  and,  on 
the  whole,  they  have  acquitted  themselves  well.  A large 
percentage  of  them  have  been  above  the  average  in  schol- 
arship. They  excel  in  scientific  and  mathematical  subjects 
requiring  accuracy  rather  than  breadth  of  view  or 
imagination.  In  English,  without  the  inheritance  of 
generations  and  without  practice  in  good  English  in 
their  home  life,  they  make  the  poorest  showing  by  com- 
parison. But  even  in  this  subject  the  marvel  is,  not  that 
they  do  no  better,  but  that  they  do  so  well.  They  soon 
master  the  grammar  and  make  a very  creditable  showing 
in  oral  and  written  expression  and  in  the  use  of  the 
English  idiom. 

“ In  conduct  they  are  exemplary.  They  are  indus- 
trious, eager,  earnest  seekers  after  everything  that  will 
improve  them  in  body  or  in  mind.  There  is  rarely  any 
question  as  to  their  ambition  and  willingness  to  work; 
when  there  is  a failure  it  is  usually  due  to  conditions 
beyond  their  control — to  lack  of  ability  or  training  suffi- 
cient for  the  task,  or  to  inherited  tendencies  too  strong 
to  be  overcome. 

“ Among  our  students  it  is  now  generally  conceded 
that  in  every  competition,  whether  on  the  athletic  field, 
in  the  class-room,  or  in  contests  in  speaking,  they  are 
factors  to  be  reckoned  with. 

“ The  change  of  conditions  in  China  has  been  re- 
flected considerably  in  the  attitude  of  our  Chinese 
.students.  There  has  come  an  increased  zeal  for  a train- 
ing, either  along  commercial  lines  or  in  broader  academic 
courses  leading  to  admission  to  Eastern  colleges,  that 
will  better  fit  them  for  a place  in  the  great  progressive 
movement  of  the  awakened  Empire.” 

The  old  Chinese  adapted  themselves  to  our  customs 


THE  CHINESE  IN  HAWAII 


3” 


and  practices;  the  Chinese  of  the  younger  generation 
are  adopting  them  and  making  them  a part  of  themselves. 
The  young  Chinaman  in  the  schools  is  learning  to  speak 
and  to  write  English  fluently.  He  of  course  has  lost  his 
queue  and  has  adopted  American  clothes  which  he  wears 
with  a grace  and  nonchalance  not  jjarallcled  by  many 
other  peoples.  He  has  learned  to  dance  and  has  blos- 
somed out  as  a society  man  in  a way  to  surprise  even 
those  who  are  sanguine  enough  to  expect  the  adoption 
of  any  .A^nglo-Saxon  practice.  He  excels  in  such  games 
as  foot-ball,  base-ball  and  track  events,  and  has  taken 
up  tennis  and  similar  pastimes  not  merely  because  he 
wants  to  do  what  the  American  boy  is  doing,  but  also 
because  he  gets  out  of  them  the  same  enjoyment  as  does 
the  young  American. 

A full-blooded  Hawaiian-born  Chinese  boy  has  equalled 
the  world’s  record  for  the  fifty-yards  dash.  The  best 
school  and  league  athletic  teams  number  Chinese  among 
their  members.  They  sing  the  best  music.  Chinese 
students  in  private  and  public  schools  have  given 
meritorious  public  musical  performances.  Two  or  three 
years  ago  in  a concert  given  by  the  pupils  of  the  largest 
school  for  white  children  in  the  Territory,  a young  man, 
born  in  China,  after  only  a few  years  in  school  sang 
a tenor  solo. 

The  charge  of  irreverence  cannot  be  made  against 
him.  Missionary  work  among  the  Chinese  was  partic- 
ularly fruitful.  As  individuals  they  have  listened 
respectfully  to  the  message  of  Christian  workers  and 
many  have  deserted  the  religion  of  their  fathers  for  the 
more  vital  and  satisfying  creeds  of  Christianity.  As 
organizations  the  Chinese  Christian  churches  have  shown 
capacity  for  growth  and  have  in  addition  been  able  to 
contribute  to  the  carrying  on  of  the  work  among  other 
peoples.  The  combined  testimony  of  Christian  workers 


312 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


among  the  Chinese,  not  only  in  Hawaii  but  also  in  the 
home  country,  is  so  emphatically  to  the  contrary,  that  it 
is  idle  to  charge  them  with  supercilious  unwillingness  to 
listen  to  the  teaching  of  the  Christ. 

The  Chinaman  is  a property  owner  and  a good  tax- 
payer. He  was  brought  to  the  Islands  under  a contract 
system  which  practically  held  him  a laborer  on  the  plan- 
tations for  a period  of  years.  But  by  native  energy  he 
overcame  these  barriers  and  became  a considerable 
property  owner.  By  1901,  1,115  Chinese  in  the  Territory 
owned  property  whose  assessed  value  was  $1,320,084  and 
12,926  Chinese  owned  $3,287,802  worth  of  personal 
property.  Among  the  older  Chinese  are  several  who 
have  made  fortunes. 

The  Chinese  is  a good  spender.  In  matter  of  clothes 
and  food  he  is  something  of  an  epicure.  When  he  puts 
on  his  best  he  dresses  in  silks  and  costly  shoes,  and  for 
himself,  and  especially  for  his  wife  and  daughters,  he 
buys  an  amount  of  expensive  jewelry  which  astonishes 
his  white  brother.  His  dinners  to  his  friends,  which  he 
gives  on  slight  provocation,  have  course  after  course  of 
delicious  and  expensive  viands.  The  Chinese  are  mas- 
ters of  the  culinary  art,  and  he  who  is  invited  to  a 
Chinese  dinner  may  regard  himself  as  most  fortunate. 

The  testimony  of  the  planters  is  to  the  effect  that  he 
spends  half  again  as  much  for  his  provisions  as  a Japa- 
nese. He  eats  meat  and  vegetables  and  has  a fondness 
for  sweets.  On  his  days  of  celebration,  particularly  on 
Chinese  New  Year’s,  he  keeps  open  house  and  serves 
wine  and  food  to  whomsoever  calls.  Even  the  poorest 
of  them  is  an  open-handed  giver ; he  is  most  grateful 
for  any  favor  or  act  of  kindness  and  in  return  he  often 
gives  so  lavishly  as  fairly  to  shame  the  recipient. 

He  is  a law-abiding  member  of  the  community,  prob- 
ably the  most  law-abiding  immigrant  that  comes  to  our 
shores.  If  he  understands  what  is  required  of  him  he  is 


THE  CHINESE  IN  HAWAII 


313 


fairly  sure  to  do  it  to  the  best  of  his  ability.  Laws  which 
are  administered  fairly  and  justly  he  is  disposed  to  carry 
out  to  the  letter.  He  is  quick  to  resent  injustice  and  not 
easy  to  turn  from  a course  of  action  to  which  he  has 
made  up  his  mind.  He  has  the  inflexibility  of  the  “ slow 
to  anger.”  Their  offenses  against  the  laws  of  sanitation 
are  due  for  the  most  part  to  ignorance.  He  leaves  the 
barracks  and  the  hovels  as  soon  as  he  feels  safe  away 
from  his  fellows  and  knows  the  advantages  of  better 
quarters. 

Out  of  883  arrests  for  drunkenness  in  1907  in  the  Ter- 
ritory, there  was  only  one  Chinese.  Of  misdemeanors, 
aside  from  gambling,  only  119  arrests  of  Chinese, 
or  seven  and  one-half  per  cent.,  were  made  dur- 
ing that  year,  and  of  these  sixteen  were  for  insanity ; 
only  three  and  seven-tenths  per  cent,  of  the  felonies  were 
among  the  Chinese.  He  is  a user  of  opium,  a curse 
placed  upon  the  race  in  large  part  by  Anglo-Saxon  hands, 
and  he  is  by  nature  a gambler.  Experience  in  Hawaii 
has  shown  that  this  trait  which  amounts  almost  to  a na- 
tional weakness  can  be  decently  kept  in  check  by  a vig- 
orous police  force,  free  of  graft. 

Many  Chinese  are  citizens  and  have  the  right  to  vote. 
These  rights  have  been  secured  in  two  ways;  first,  per- 
sons born  or  naturalized  in  the  Hawaiian  Islands  prior  to 
June  14,  1900,  became  citizens  on  that  date ; second,  per- 
sons born  or  naturalized  in  the  Territory  of  Hawaii  sub- 
sequent to  June  14,  1900,  are  citizens,  subject  to  the  limi- 
tations of  a decision  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United 
States  (United  States  vs.  Wong  Kim  Ark  169  U.  S. 
649)  which  recites  that  a child  born  in  the  United  States 
of  Chinese  parents  who  are  subjects  of  the  Emperor  but 
who  have  a permanent  residence  in  the  United  States  and 
are  there  carrying  on  business,  but  who  are  not  mem- 
bers of  the  diplomatic  corps  becomes  a citizen  of  the 
United  States  and  of  the  State  wherein  he  resides. 


314 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


In  the  period  from  1842-1893,  731  Chinese  and  one 
Japanese  were  naturalized.  Since  1893,  no  Chinese  or 
Japanese  have  been  naturalized.  Most  of  these  natural- 
ized Chinese  have  either  died  or  left  the  Islands.  In  the 
period  1893-1900,  certificates  of  Hawaiian  birth  were 
issued  to  1,479  Chinese,  but  these  certificates  are  not  gen- 
erally accepted  as  prima  facie  evidence  of  the  facts 
stated.  But  since  1900,  certificates,  which  are  made 
prima  facie  evidence  of  Hawaiian  birth  before  any  regis- 
tration or  election  board  and  in  all  the  courts  of  the  Ter- 
ritory, have  been  issued  to  2,088  Chinese  and  149  Japa- 
nese. It  is  estimated  that  there  are  now  in  the  Territory 
about  9,000  Chinese,  Hawaiian-born  and  naturalized. 
How  many  of  these  are  now  or  ever  will  become  citizens 
under  the  constitution  it  is  not  possible  to  say.  Some 
will  leave  the  Territory  while  young.  The  number  of 
voters  at  present,  or  likely  to  come  in  the  near  future,  is 
not  a source  of  alarm  in  an  electorate  of  about  14,000. 
The  following  table  shows  both  the  Chinese  and  Japa- 
nese voters  in  the  last  four  elections: — 

1902  1904  1906  1908 


Chinese  143  I75  220  271 

Japanese  3 2 o 6 


Competent  observers  who  have  studied  the  situation 
say  that  the  Chinese  have  made  conscientious  and  con- 
servative voters. 

Conclusion 

The  presence  of  the  Chinese  and  Japanese  in  large 
numbers  in  Hawaii  has  a significance  beyond  the  measure 
of  their  economic  value,  the  purpose  for  which  they  were 
brought  there.  It  raises  the  question  of  the  final  Oriental- 
ization  of  the  Islands.  Hawaii  at  present  is  absolutely 


THE  CHINESE  IN  HAWAII 


315 


American,  not  only  in  its  affiliations,  but  also  in  the  very 
fiber  of  its  thought.  By  aggressiveness  and  cohesion  in 
thought  and  action,  10,000  Americans  have  absolutely 
dominated  a Territory  with  170,000  people.  Immigrants 
have  been  assimilated.  Through  the  medium  of  the  pub- 
lic schools,  children  of  foreigners  have  been  made  into 
patriotic  sons  and  daughters  of  Uncle  Sam.  The  Asiatic 
has  not  affected  the  political  or  social  fabric.  He  has 
been  in,  but  not  of,  the  life  of  the  Islands.  He  has  lived 
side  by  side  with  the  dominant  race,  which  has  not 
yielded  or  given  way. 

So  far  as  the  Chinese  are  concerned,  the  conditions  in 
the  last  decade  may  well  be  taken  as  indicative  of  what 
the  future  will  bring  forth.  Unless  there  is  an  unexpected 
change  of  sentiment  no  more  Chinese  will  be  allowed  to 
come.  The  temper  and  tendencies  of  the  present  body  of 
Chinese  will  continue  to  be  characteristic  of  the  race  in 
the  Islands.  From  our  experience  in  Hawaii,  there  need 
be  no  fear  that  the  Chinese  will  impose  Oriental  civili- 
zation, standards  of  living,  or  methods  of  thought  upon 
the  country. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  say  more  to  show  that  these  peo- 
ple have  settled  in  Hawaii  with  the  idea  of  becoming 
Occidentals.  It  has  been  shown  that  the  older  Chinese 
under  considerate  treatment  can  throw  off  the  conserva- 
tism of  ages  and  in  a few  years  adapt  themselves  to  an 
Occidental  civilization,  and  that  the  younger  Chinese  in  a 
generation  through  the  instrumentality  of  the  school  and 
the  church  have  quite  completely  adopted  American 
ideals  and  ways. 

Hawaii  has  demonstrated  that  the  Chinese  in  the 
proper  political,  social  and  educational  environment  will 
become  American  citizens  whose  stability,  patriotism  and 
obedience  to  law  will  give  them  an  honored  place  under 
the  Stars  and  Stripes. 


* 


As 

consii 
inatic 
more( 
Unite( 
stands 
derive 
culiari 
fold  fa 
ers,  bf 
ritoria 
coraiiK 
tie  fn 
of  an 
thantl 
been  f 
tentioE 
peculia 


, no-Jap 
certain 
fortnni 
tempor 
irresist 
is  the; 


XVII 


JAPAN’S  RELATION  TO  CHINA 

As  one  contemplates  the  great  future  of  China,  he  is 
convinced  that,  of  all  the  foreign  Powers  having  diplo- 
matic relations  with  her,  none  will  henceforth  exert  a 
more  controlling  influence  upon  her  national  life  than  the 
United  States  and  Japan.  Each  of  these  two  Powers 
stands  in  an  absolutely  unique  relation  toward  China,  and 
derives  therefrom  incomparable  advantages.  The  pe- 
culiarity of  the  American  position  consists  in  the  two- 
fold fact  that  the  United  States  has,  alone  of  all  the  Pow- 
ers, been  free  in  the  past  from  any  act  or  desire  of  ter- 
ritorial aggression,  but  has  in  the  main  been  engaged  in 
commercial  expansion  in  the  Oriental  Empire,  and,  for 
the  future,  looks  confidently  forward  to  the  development 
of  an  economic  relation  with  China  of  greater  volume 
than  that  of  any  other  foreign  nation.  These  points  have 
been  fully  discussed  during  the  present  Conference.  At- 
tention has  not,  however,  been  directed  to  the  even  more 
peculiar  and  more  important  relation  that  exists  and  will 
develop  between  China  and  her  neighbor  Japan.  Already 
the  general  sentiment  in  this  country  regarding  the  Chi- 
no-Japanese  relation  is  in  the  danger  of  falling  into 
certain  conventionalized  ways  of  thinking,  which  are  un- 
fortunately guided  by  largely  misconstrued  events  of 
temporary  nature,  with  little  regard  to  permanent  forces 
irresistibly  shaping  the  destinies  of  the  two  nations.  It 
is  the  aim  of  this  paper  to  point  out,  if  possible,  some  of 
these  great  forces  in  the  Chino-Japanese  relation,  and 
to  suggest  that  an  American  policy  toward  China  formu- 

317 


3i8  china  and  the  FAR  EAST 

lated  without  due  consideration  of  these  forces  would  be 
liable  to  be  disastrous  to  all  parties. 

In  the  discussion  of  this  great  theme,  one  must  first 
of  all  remember  that  the  relation  of  China  with  Japan 
is  at  least  sixteen  centuries  old,  and,  what  is  more,  has 
during  this  long  period  been  of  much  more  intimate  na- 
ture than  the  relation  of  any  one  of  the  Occidental  na- 
tions with  China  has  been  at  any  time  since  their  first 
contact  with  her. 

In  the  Middle  Ages,  at  the  same  time  that  the  westeni 
European  nations  were  slowly  evolving  their  great  unity 
in  variety,  that  is,  their  common  culture  and  their  in- 
dividual characteristics,  in  eastern  Asia,  also,  China  and 
Japan  gradually  developed  a striking  contrast  of  char- 
acter within  the  same  family  of  race  and  culture. 

You  know  that  the  peoples  of  China  and  Japan  had 
migrated  to  their  present  habitats  neither  at  the  same  time 
nor  from  the  same  origin.  You  know,  also,  that  they  had 
brought  with  them  languages  which  were  further  apart 
from  each  other  than  English  is  from  Russian.  Nor  is  it 
less  well  known  that  their  physical  surroundings  and  their 
political  and  social  history  were  radically  different,  and 
contributed  to  the  formation  of  their  very  divergent  moral 
characteristics. 

Despite  these  fundamental  points  of  difference,  how- 
ever, the  two  nations  belonged  to  the  same  large  stock  of 
the  human  species.  Here  was  a powerful  bond  of  kin- 
ship which  circumstances  might  obscure  but  which  noth- 
ing could  efface.  Moreover,  the  continual  relations  ex- 
isting between  them  gradually  bound  them  together  in  a 
common  life  of  culture,  China  being,  in  these  cultured  re- 
lations, a generous  teacher,  and  Japan  an  eager  pupil.  It 
would  require  volumes  to  describe  the  growing  close- 
ness and  depth  of  the  relations  of  the  teacher  and  the 
pupil  during  the  Middle  Ages.  In  her  long  march  in 


JAPAN’S  RELATION  TO  CHINA  319 

civilization,  Japan  hardly  took  a forward  step  without  re- 
ceiving an  impulse  therefor  from  China.  Thus,  the  lan- 
guage of  Japan  came  to  be  written,  as  it  is  to  this  day, 
by  means  of  Chinese  ideographs  and  of  syllabaries  sim- 
plified from  them.  The  form  of  the  Japanese  government 
was  remodelled  in  the  seventh  century  after  the  pattern 
of  Chinese  institutions,  and  this  great  reform  continued 
to  affect  the  political  life  of  Japan  in  one  way  or  another 
for  more  than  a thousand  years.  The  Confucian  ethics 
exerted  a profound  influence  upon  the  code  of  morals  in 
feudal  Japan.  Especially  interesting  is  the  manner  in 
which  Japan  received  through  China  Buddhism  and 
Buddhist  art  and  literature.  These  came  to  Japan  in 
different  forms  in  different  periods  of  history.  A vast 
variety  of  cultural  elements,  Indian,  Hellenic,  Byzantine, 
western  and  central  Asiatic,  as  well  as  Chinese,  con- 
tributed to  make  the  composite  body  of  culture  known  as 
Buddhism  and  Buddhist  art.  The  wonderful  blending 
of  these  elements  took  place  in  China,  and,  out  of  this 
grand  thesaurus,  Japan  selected,  in  each  period  of  her 
history,  those  phases  as  best  suited  her  spiritual  and  ar- 
tistic needs.  It  is  not  implied  that  the  culture  of  the  two 
nations  was  identical.  Far  from  it — for  Japan  had  a 
pronounced  individuality,  and  never  accepted  foreign 
elements  without  assimilating  them  in  the  end.  It  is 
none  the  less  true  that  no  important  part  of  Japanese 
culture — politics,  philosophy,  religion,  morals,  or  art — 
could  have  been  what  it  was  but  for  its  immense  indebt- 
edness to  the  continental  civilization  received  from  China. 

Sixteen  centuries  of  this  intimate  relation  and  natural 
sympathy  of  China  and  Japan  have  been  followed  by 
thirty  years  of  temporary  antipathy  between  them.  It 
was  an  apparent  misfortune  to  humanity  that  these 
brothers  of  the  same  race  and  common  culture  should, 
as  they  did,  part  hands  as  soon  as  they  entered  their 


320 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


modern  international  careers.  When  their  doors  were 
open  to  foreign  nations,  Japan  at  once  awoke  to  the  con- 
viction, but  China  refused  to  admit  it,  that  her  sovereign 
rights  could  be  upheld  only  with  adequate  national 
strength,  and  that  her  real  strength  lay  in  the  path  of  re- 
form. This  difference  in  attitude  created  a gulf  between 
the  two  nations — a gulf  which  must,  from  its  very  nature, 
disappear  when  China  enters,  as  she  is  now  beginning 
to  do,  the  same  path  of  reform  as  Japan  has  been  pursu- 
ing ahead  of  her.  In  the  meantime,  however,  to  China’s 
unwillingness  to  set  her  house  in  order,  and  to  her  conse- 
quent inability  to  take  care  of  her  own  affairs,  enforce 
her  own  rights,  and  perform  her  own  duties,  are  directly 
traceable  the  ultimate  causes  of  the  Opium  and  Arrow 
wars,  the  Chino-Japanese  War,  the  Boxer  War,  the 
Russo-Japanese  War,  and  other  disastrous  events.  Let 
us  now  briefly  follow  the  story,  at  once  pathetic  and 
happy,  how  the  awakened  Japan  and  dormant  China 
came  to  a short  period  of  conflict,  and  how  this  conflict 
has  contributed  to  the  awakening  of  China. 

In  this  period  of  thirty  years,  there  are  three  great 
events  which  may  serve  as  landmarks  in  our  discussion, 
namely,  the  Chino-Japanese  War  of  1894-5,  the  Boxer 
War  in  1900,  and  the  Russo-Japanese  War  of  1904-5. 

The  war  between  China  and  Japan  was  a direct  re- 
sult of  Japan’s  resolution  to  reconstruct  Eastern  poli- 
tics on  the  modern  basis  and  China’s  persistence  in  the 
old  methods.  There  was  born  a natural  antipathy  be- 
tween the  two  Powers  as  soon  as  the  divergence  of  their 
policies  became  evident.  And  these  opposing  policies 
came  to  a clash  when  they  were  applied  to  Korea.  For 
it  was  to  Japan’s  interest  to  reform  and  strengthen 
Korea,  and  to  China’s  interest  to  keep  the  Korean  gov- 
ernment corrupt  and  weak.  The  war  ensued,  the  result 
of  which,  as  is  well  known,  came  as  a clear  evidence  of 


JAPAN’S  RELATION  TO  CHINA  321 

the  superiority  of  the  modern  methods  which  Japan  had 
adopted. 

The  effects  of  the  war  upon  the  situation  in  the  Orient 
were  far-reaching.  Japan’s  rise  as  a modern  nation  in 
the  estimate  of  the  world  may  be  said  to  date  from  this 
time.  For  China,  the  effects  were  two-fold. 

In  the  first  place,  her  defeat  exposed  her  feebleness, 
and  this  revelation  invited  a sudden  increase  of  the  pres- 
sure of  the  Powers  for  concessions  of  all  kinds  in  China, 
which  was  powerless  to  resist  the  demands.  As  has 
been  pointed  out  in  several  papers  during  this  Conference, 
pieces  of  land  highly  important  from  the  strategic  or  com- 
mercial standpoint  were  leased  out,  the  rights  to  build 
railways  and  work  mines  were  granted,  and  large  di- 
visions of  territory  were  marked  out  as  spheres  of  inter- 
est and  of  influence : moreover,  these  leases,  concessions 
and  spheres  were  generally  regarded  by  the  Powers  as 
bases  for  further  aggrandizement.  There  is  no  other  pe- 
riod of  five  years  in  the  modern  history  of  China  in 
which  her  sovereign  rights  were  so  seriously  encroached 
upon  by  the  rival  Powers  as  between  1895  1900. 

These  were  evil  days  of  the  Old  Diplomacy  in  China, 
that  is,  the  diplomacy  by  which  nations  of  the  West 
struggled  for  a balance  of  power  among  themselves,  in 
China,  and  at  her  expense.  Americans,  also,  joined  the 
other  nations,  though  without  aggressive  intentions  upon 
territory,  to  wrest  railway  concessions  from  the  unwill- 
ing China.  Their  attempts  in  1886,  1896,  and  1897,  to 
secure  the  right  to  finance  a part  of  the  Imperial  Railway 
of  North  China,  the  Tientsin-Chingkiang  railway,  and 
the  Peking-Hankow  railway,  failed,  but  in  1898  they 
succeeded  in  getting  temporarily  the  concession  to  build 
the  Hankow-Canton  railway. 

It  is  a significant  fact  in  Eastern  history  that  out  of 
this  “ battle  of  concessions  ” among  the  Powers  were 


322  CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 

slowly  evolved  the  two  great  principles  of  the  new  di- 
plomacy in  China : the  principle  that  the  independence  and 
the  territorial  integrity  of  the  Chinese  Empire  should  no 
more  be  encroached  upon  than  they  already  had  been, 
and  the  principle  that  all  nations  should  henceforth  be 
allowed  to  compete  in  China  commercially  and  indus- 
trially with  no  more  unequal  opportunities  among  them- 
selves than  might  hitherto  have  obtained.  That  these 
fair  principles  of  the  new  diplomacy  were  born  out  of 
the  questionable  practices  of  the  old  diplomacy  was  due 
to  the  very  fact  that  the  craze  for  concession  and  ag- 
grandizement in  China  among  the  Powers  had  risen  to 
such  fever  that  none  of  them  could  feel  assured  that  the 
gains  they  had  already  made  would  not  be  outbalanced 
at  any  moment  by  the  gains  other  Powers  might  secure 
from  the  feeble  China.  It  was  for  this  reason  that  the 
new  principles  as  working  theories  for  all  the  Powers 
were  first  clearly  conceived  and  insisted  upon  by  Great 
Britain,  the  Power  which  had  the  largest  vested  interests 
in  China  and  was  therefore  the  most  eager  to  preserve 
its  interests  and  to  prevent  other  Powers  from  acquiring 
further  discriminating  favors  for  themselves.  Whatever 
the  motive,  however,  the  principles  were  apparently  Just, 
and,  as  such,  commended  themselves  to  the  United  States, 
which  had  asked  and  obtained  a railway  concession  but 
was  never  inclined  to  be  territorially  aggressive  in  that 
particular  part  of  the  world,  and  to  other  Powers,  which 
had  little  pretext  to  oppose  the  just  principles. 

It  should  not  be  forgotten,  however,  that  these  were 
lame  principles.  The  so-called  independence  and  integ- 
rity of  China  meant,  not  that  the  territorial  and  judicial 
sovereignty  and  the  financial  autonomy  of  the  Empire, 
which  had  been  and  still  are  being  seriously  menaced  or 
eclipsed  at  the  treaty  ports  and  leased  districts  and  by 
means  of  concessions  of  various  kinds,  should  now  be 


JAPAN’S  RELATION  TO  CHINA  323 

, restored  and  respected  in  entirety,  but  merely  that  no 
more  of  China’s  territory  than  had  been  ceded  should  be 
permanently  acquired  by  any  foreign  Power.  Likewise, 
the  so-called  equal  opportunity  meant,  not  that  any  of 
those  concessions  which  the  Powers  had  acquired  indi- 
vidually or  in  common  from  China,  in  the  former  case 
with  the  clear  intention  that  they  should  afTord  better 
economic  opportunities  to  the  concessionaires  than  to 
others,  should  be  repealed,  nor  even  that  no  new  conces- 
sions should  be  sought  in  China,  but  simply  that  no  fur- 
ther discriminating  arrangement  than  had  been  made 
should  be  effected  between  any  Power  and  China.  The 
past  gains  of  the  old  diplomacy  remained  intact,  and 
might  even  be,  as  we  know  that  they  still  are,  duplicated 
under  certain  conditions.  What  were  these  conditions? 
What  constituted  an  infringement  of  the  first  principle 
and  a violation  of  the  second?  It  is  a remarkable  fact 
that  no  clear  answer  to  these  important  questions  has 
been  made  by  the  Powers  in  common.  There  perhaps  is 
little  difficulty  in  determining  whether  any  given  act  by 
a foreign  Power  may  be  construed  as  encroaching  upon 
the  independence  and  integrity  of  China,  for  no  one  can 
fail  to  perceive  such  complex  a matter  as  the  passing  of  a 
piece  of  territory  from  one  State  to  another,  but  it  seems 
less  easy  to  define  what  makes  up  an  unequal  opportunity. 
Real  facts  go  to  prove  that  any  of  the  following  hypothet- 
ical arangements  would  be  regarded  as  creating  unequal 
opportunities  and  an  infringement  of  the  “ open  door  ” 
principle;  namely,  that,  within  an  area,  no  new  treaty 
ports  should  be  opened  to  the  world’s  commerce  and  resi- 
dence, and  no  mining  or  railway  concession  should, 
without  consulting  the  wishes  of  a foreign  Power,  be 
made  at  any  time  to  any  other  Power ; that  a railway  or 
mining  concession  within  a large  district  should  be  ex- 
clusively and  permanently  granted  to  a Power;  that  a 


324  CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 

Power  should,  on  the  railway  which  it  builds  and  man- 
ages on  the  strength  of  a legitimate  concession  granted 
for  a definite  term,  impose  freight  rates  specially  low  for 
the  merchandise  shipped  by  its  own  subjects  or  specially 
high  for  that  of^ other  nations;  and  that,  at  any  maritime 
customs  stations,  a nation  should  be  allowed  discriminat- 
ing import  or  export  duties  (in  overland  trade  with 
China,  however,  special  arrangements  of  rates  not  being 
absent).  On  the  other  hand,  the  United  States  and  all 
the  other  Powers  having  relations  with  China  enjoy  and 
still  eagerly  seek  some  or  all  of  the  following  kinds  of 
advantages  from  China : ( i ) a concession  for  the  work- 
ing for  a definite  period  of  time,  or  the  mere  financing,  of 
a railway  enterprise,  often  accompanied  with  the  right  to 
work  mines  along  the  proposed  line,  and  almost  always 
coupled  with  the  agreement  that,  within  the  stipulated 
term,  no  other  railway  prejudicial  to  the  interest  of  the 
present  line  should  be  built  in  its  neighborhood  without 
the  consent  of  the  foreign  contracting  party;  (2)  a con- 
cession for  a mining,  manufacturing,  or  other  industrial 
enterprise  at  a specific  place  within  a specific  length  of 
time;  (3)  the  right  of  protecting,  with  police  or  military 
forces,  either  a river-course  exposed  to  pirates  in  which 
the  foreign  nation  has  a predominant  interest,  or  a rail- 
way passing  through  a region  infested  with  dangerous 
robbers,  the  latter  case  obtaining  only  until  such  time  as 
Chinese  forces  may  be  capable  of  protecting  the  line, 
and  otherwise  terminating  with  the  term  of  the  railway 
itself;  (4)  the  right  of  exercising  limited  municipal  con- 
trol over  the  land  belonging  to  a railway  during  the  time 
in  which  the  concessionary  Power  manages  the  line;  and, 
finally,  (5)  the  right  of  police  and  general  municipal  ad- 
ministration, as  well  as  extra-territorial  jurisdiction,  by 
foreign  Powers  at  treaty  ports  and  marts,  within  speci- 
fied areas,  but  for  an  indefinite  period  of  time.  This  last 


JAPAN’S  RELATION  TO  CHINA  325 

right  is  a substantial  breach  of  the  principle  of  the  in- 
dependence and  integrity  of  China,  and  the  reasons  why 
no  Power  deems  it  a violation  of  the  principle  of  equal 
opportunity  must  be  that  all  the  Powers  equally  share 
the  benefit  arising  from  it,  and  that  it  is  one  of  so-called 
“ treaty  rights,”  or  rights  secured  by  virtue  of  appar- 
ently bona  fide  agreements  to  which  China  is  declared  to 
be  a voluntary  party.  Now,  looking  over  all  the  five 
classes  of  privileges  enumerated  above,  what  general 
definition  of  the  “ open  door  ” may  we  be  justified  in  de- 
ducing from  them?  To  my  knowledge,  the  clearest  defi- 
nition on  this  important  question  was  given  by  Count 
Serge  de  Witte  during  the  peace  conference  at  Ports- 
mouth, and  I believe  that  his  definition  coincides  with  the 
view  held  tacitly  by  all  the  Powers  in  China.  The  Count 
said  that  no  rights  which  were  acquired  lawfully  from 
China  within  a limited  space  of  her  territory,  and  which 
did  not  exclude  a third  party  from  securing  similar  ad- 
vantages from  her,  could  be  considered  a monopoly,  or  a 
violation  of  the  principle  of  equal  opportunity.  It  will 
be  seen  at  once  that  the  definition  is  negative.  It  is,  in- 
deed, to  be  expected  that  any  definition  of  this  principle 
should  remain  negative,  so  long  as  the  principle  is  dis- 
cussed among  foreign  Powers  as  one  binding  upon  them- 
selves individually  in  their  dealings  with  China.  It  would 
assume  a positive  aspect  only  when  she  becomes  suffi- 
ciently strong  to  regulate  the  extent  of  the  opportunity 
which  she  would  grant  impartially  to  all  foreign  nations. 
Until  that  happy  time  arrives,  the  Powers  would  con- 
tinue to  cherish  such  competitive  favors  from  China  as 
they  individually  regard  as,  not  necessarily  conforming 
to  the  principles  of  the  new  diplomacy,  but  not  exactly 
contrary  to  them.  Nor  is  it  clear  that  these  favors  are  not 
to  a large  extent  due  to  China’s  still  serious  inability  to 
enforce  her  own  rights  and  protect  legitimate  foreign  in- 


326 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


terests.  It  is  even  possible  to  find  a partial  consolation 
— not  justification — in  the  thought  that,  when  China  re- 
sumes all  the  concessions  at  the  end  of  their  terms,  she 
will  find  that  the  success  of  her  reformatory  measures  had 
been  very  materially  insured  by  the  railways,  mines,  and 
treaty  ports,  and  by  the  general  development  of  the 
country  consequent  upon  them,  in  which  foreign  na- 
tions had  contributed  money  and  skill,  as  it  will  then  be 
evident,  largely  to  China’s  ultimate  good.  To  this  felici- 
tous result  should  conduce  a real  observance  by  the  Pow- 
ers of  the  principles  of  the  new  diplomacy,  imperfect  as 
they  may  be. 

Even  the  imperfect  principles  may,  then,  be  regarded 
as  an  immense  advance  from  the  old  diplomacy,  which 
had  created  a continual  disturbance  and  readjustment  of 
the  balance  of  power  among  rival  nations  in  China  at 
her  greater  and  greater  expense.  This  latter  process,  as 
we  have  seen,  increased  its  pace  so  suddenly  after  the 
Chino-Japanese  War,  that  the  combined  sense  of  self- 
interest  and  fairness  on  the  part  of  a few  Powers  reacted 
against  the  old  diplomacy  in  the  form  of  the  apparently 
juster  principles  of  the  new  diplomacy.  It  is,  therefore, 
safe  to  conclude  that  the  war  served  to  bring  about  a 
situation  which  contributed  indirectly  but  powerfully  to 
a clear  conception  of  these  progressive  principles. 

Attention  is  called  to  another  important  eflfect  of  the 
war  upon  China,  namely,  the  dawn  of  her  period  of  re- 
form. The  many  reverses  she  had  sustained  in  the  past 
at  the  hands  of  European  Powers  did  not  impress  upon 
her  mind  with  the  need  of  a reform  so  strongly  as  did 
the  defeat  inflicted  by  Japan — a nation  which  had  for- 
merly been  her  pupil  in  culture,  but  which  had  parted 
company  with  China,  to  her  great  disgust,  and  entered 
on  a road  of  reform.  However,  the  reformatory  meas- 
ures adopted  by  the  Chinese  Emperor  were  too  radical 


JAPAN’S  RELATION  TO  CHINA  327 

for  the  time,  and  resulted  in  the  rise  once  more  to  power 
of  the  late  Empress  Dowager  and  her  ultra-conservative 
advisers. 

The  reactionary  movement  thus  inaugurated  in  1898 
was  fanned  by  political  passions  of  certain  factions  in 
China,  and  finally  broke  out  in  the  Boxer  uprising  in 
1900.  The  forces  of  the  allied  Powers  invaded  the  Capi- 
tal, and  the  Imperial  court  had  to  flee  to  Sian.  This  sad 
event,  however,  proved  a blessing  in  disguise  for  China, 
for  it  caused  both  the  reform  movement  and  the  new 
diplomacy  to  make  an  important  progress. 

1.  The  reform  movement  which  was  nipped  in  the  bud 
in  1898  was  now  revived  after  the  convincing  lesson  of 
1900,  and  was  approved  by  the  Empress  Dowager  her- 
self, who  had  been  considered  its  arch-enemy.  A decree 
of  1901  frankly  reversed  the  historic  idea  of  the  incom- 
parable superiority  of  the  Chinese  Empire  to  all  outside 
barbarian  states,  and  admitted  in  the  clearest  terms  that 
its  subjects  had  always  lacked  public  spirit  and  its  laws 
and  institutions  were  antiquated  and  impractical.  Ja- 
pan’s strength  through  reform  was  again  cited  in  the 
decree  as  the  example  to  be  emulated.  Opinions  on  the 
methods  of  reform  were  extensively  sought.  The  central 
government  was  in  a measure  reorganized,  with  the  new 
Board  of  Commerce  and  the  remodelled  Board  of  For- 
eign Affairs.  A system  of  national  education  and  that 
of  metropolitan  police,  based  largely  upon  Japanese 
models,  were  framed  and  put  into  force.  Time  was, 
however,  not  yet  ripe  for  a more  thoroughgoing  re- 
form. 

2.  The  new  diplomacy.  During  and  after  the  Boxer 
War,  their  common  danger  due  to  China’s  weakness  and 
their  mutual  jealousy  compelled  the  Powers  to  act  in 
concert  in  their  dealings  with  China  on  the  basis  of  the 
new  diplomacy.  It  is  remarkable  that  the  Powers,  in 


328 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


spite  of  their  divergent  interests  in  China,  showed  a suf- 
ficient degree  of  self-control  throughout  their  joint  ne- 
gotiations with  China  to  prevent  from  becoming  serious 
what  little  disputes  arose  among  them.  Thus  the  very 
weakness  of  China  and  jealousy  of  the  Powers  tended  to 
unite  the  latter  for  the  time  being  in  a manner  which  was 
on  the  whole  advantageous  to  China.  The  principles  of 
the  new  diplomacy  seemed  thereby  to  have  acquired  a 
great  momentum.  It  was,  however,  in  the  midst  of  this 
concerted  movement  of  the  Powers  that  one  of  them  be- 
gan to  pursue  a policy  in  another  part  of  the  Chinese 
Empire  which  soon  proved  the  greatest  peril  that  has 
ever  menaced  the  integrity  of  China  and  the  equal  op- 
portunity therein. 

It  is  needless  to  repeat  the  well-known  story  how  Rus- 
sia occupied  Manchuria  by  military  force  in  1900,  and 
sought  during  the  next  four  years  to  retain  it  and  pre- 
vent its  opening  to  the  industrial  and  commercial  enter- 
prise of  other  nations ; how,  in  order  to  realize  her  ends  in 
Manchuria,  Russia  endeavored  to  seize  the  southern 
coast  and  northern  frontier  of  Korea;  and  how  Russian 
aggression  in  these  two  countries  threatened  the  vital  in- 
terest of  Japan  for  all  time  to  come.  Nor  is  it  necessary 
to  relate  how  Japan,  assisted  by  the  United  States  and 
Great  Britain,  insisted  upon  the  observance  by  Russia  of 
the  principles  of  the  new  diplomacy,  at  first  through  the 
indifferent  and  impotent  China,  and  then  directly  to  Rus- 
sia, all  to  no  purpose;  and  how  diplomacy  passed  into 
war,  and  the  war  ended  in  Japan’s  victory. 

A little  reflection  will  show  that  the  war  was  waged 
largely  for  the  common  interest  of  China  and  Japan. 
Moreover,  Japan  had  advised  China  to  remain  neutral 
during  hostilities,  and  this  was  followed  by  the  suggestion 
from  the  United  States  that  the  sphere  of  war-like  oper- 
ations should  be  limited  to  the  extent  of  Russian  occupa- 


329 


JAPAN’S  RELATION  TO  CHINA 

tion.  It  is  probable  that,  had  not  Japan  and  the  United 
States  insisted  on  respecting  Chinese  neutrality,  the  vast 
Empire  might  have  been  exposed  to  grave  dangers  in- 
volving the  interest  of  foreign  nations  and  entailing  ad- 
ditional financial  burdens  on  China.  It  is  even  more  evi- 
dent that  if  Japan  had  not  successfully  combated  Russia 
in  Manchuria,  the  new  diplomacy  would  have  sustained  a 
terrible  disaster,  and  the  364,000  square  miles  of  the  three 
provinces  in  this  part  of  the  Empire  would  have  been  lost 
to  China.  Fortunately,  Japan  won,  Manchuria  was  saved, 
and  the  principles  of  the  new  diplomacy  were  not  only 
enforced  against  Russia  through  the  greatest  war  of 
modern  times,  but  were  further  confirmed  by  the  de- 
mand by  Japan,  acceded  to  by  China,  to  open  sixteen  new 
ports  and  marts  in  Manchuria  to  the  world’s  commerce 
and  industry.  Japan  followed  her  achievement  in  arms 
with  diplomatic  efforts,  and  succeeded  between  1905  and 
1908  in  inducing  Great  Britain,  Russia,  France,  and  the 
United  States  to  make  agreements  or  joint  declara- 
tions with  herself  to  uphold  the  principles  of  the  new 
diplomacy  in  the  Chinese  Empire.  It  is  a remarkable 
event  in  the  world’s  history  that  these  principles,  which 
had  shortly  before  been  in  imminent  danger  of  being 
trampled  under  foot  in  an  important  section  of  China, 
are  now  solemnly  advocated  by  their  recent  enemy  and 
his  ally,  and  the  two  great  Anglo-Saxon  Powers,  con- 
jointly with  Japan.  If  one  is  so  skeptical  as  to  regard 
these  international  pledges  as  platitudes,  he  would  not 
deny  that  the  principles  have  now  become  the  watch- 
word, the  point  of  view,  and  the  faith  and  hope  of  every 
intelligent  person  of  the  civilized  world  in  his  attitude 
toward  China,  so  that  no  Power  might  again  dare  vio- 
late them  without  incurring  upon  itself  the  censure  of  the 
world’s  opinion — an  important  fact  of  the  kind  that  car- 
ries human  progress  a stage  forward.  Such  was  not  the 


330 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


case  at  any  period  previous  to  the  war.  This  result  has 
been  largely  due,  it  would  be  unfair  to  ignore,  to  the  per- 
sistence, daring,  sacrifice,  and  diplomacy  that  have  been 
used  by  Japan  in  behalf  of  these  principles. 

The  effect  of  the  war  was  not  limited  to  the  saving  of 
Manchuria  to  China  and  to  the  enforcement  and  the 
world-wide  education  of  the  principles  of  the  new  di- 
plomacy, but  it  also  changed  the  relative  position  of  the 
Powers  in  China  in  such  a way  as  to  a large  extent  to 
dissolve  the  spheres  of  influence  and  disconcert  the  plans 
for  future  aggression  marked  out  by  them  in  China  after 
her  war  with  Japan  ten  years  before.  The  defeat  of 
Russia  broke  the  cherished  scheme  of  herself  and  her 
ally  France  to  control  the  entire  railway  communication 
between  Siberia  and  Indo-China  by  way  of  Harbin,  Pe- 
king, Canton,  and  Yunnan.  This  loosening  of  the  bond 
has  enabled  China  to  restore  the  line  between  Peking  and 
Hankow.  The  projected  lines  between  Harbin  and  Pe- 
king, via  Kalgan,  and  between  Hankow  and  Yunnan  via 
Chungking,  are  no  longer  apt  to  be  conceded  to  Russian 
or  French  interest.  The  general  disintegration  has  been 
closely  followed  by  the  invasion  of  German,  French  and 
American  enterprise  in  sections  part  of  which  had  been 
considered  an  exclusive  British  sphere  of  influence.  Side 
by  side  with  these  significant  phenomena  should  be  noted 
the  revised  alignment  of  the  Powers  in  China.  The  frank 
admission  by  Russia  of  her  defeat  and  her  consequent 
reconciliation  with  Japan  has  largely  contributed  to  the 
dissipation  of  the  traditional  enmity  between  Russia  and 
England,  as  also  between  her  ally  France  and  England. 
The  agreement  between  Russia  and  England  concluded 
in  1907  defining  their  policies  in  Persia,  Afghanistan,  and 
Tibet,  is  an  additional  guarantee  of  the  stability  of  Asia. 
These  are  some,  not  all,  of  the  by-products  of  the  great 
war  of  1904-5. 


JAPAN’S  RELATION  TO  CHINA  331 

Still  more  important  is  the  effect  of  Japan’s  victory 
upon  the  reform  movement  in  China.  It  is  true  that  the 
movement  dates  after  the  war  of  1894-5,  and  made  a large 
progress  after  the  Boxer  incident,  but  there  is  every  evi- 
dence to  prove  that  the  need  of  a thorough  reform  at  last 
became  national  consciousness  only  after  the  Russo-Japa- 
nese War.  The  indifference  with  which  the  Peking  au- 
thorities regarded  Manchuria  after  the  Boxer  War  has 
now  changed  into  a widespread  enthusiasm  among  of- 
ficials and  gentry  throughout  the  provinces  to  resume 
foreign  concessions  and  to  protect  China’s  sovereign 
rights.  The  ideas  regarding  reform  also  have  undergone 
a fundamental  change.  At  last  the  Government  and  the 
higher  classes  of  the  people  have  advanced  beyond  mere 
shifting  in  the  official  organization  at  Peking,  which  has 
hitherto  seemed  to  have  been  almost  synonymous  with 
reform  in  their  minds.  They  have  now  committed  them- 
selves to  a thoroughgoing  reform  of  all  phases  of  political 
life,  based  upon  a constitutional  form  of  government, 
pointing  toward  a radical  change  in  the  relation  between 
the  central  and  provincial  administration,  which  is  the 
core  of  the  whole  problem  of  political  reform.  This  is 
a departure  from  the  traditional  system  paralleled  only 
by  the  drastic  changes  made  by  the  first  emperor  of  the 
Ts’in  dynasty  in  the  third  century  b.c.  If  the  student 
should  ask  what  has  prompted  the  Chinese  nation  at  last 
to  come  to  this  point,  he  would  easily  perceive  clear  evi- 
dence on  every  hand  that  this  was,  not  entirely,  but  very 
largely,  due  to  the  lesson  China  learned  deeply  from  the 
unconscious  example  set  by  Japan — a nation  of  similar 
race  and  formerly  of  common  culture  with  herself,  which 
had  risen  rapidly  to  a position  of  p>ower  while  China  had 
remained  dormant,  and  which,  because  of  China’s  very 
impotency,  had  even  engaged  in  a costly  war,  partly  in 
the  interest  of  Chinese  rights  in  iManchuria,  and  won 


332 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


over  a colossal  Power  whose  strength  had  been  believed 
to  be  unbounded.  Whence  was  this  power  of  Japan? 
asked  the  thoughtful  Chinese  to  themselves,  and  both 
friends  and  foes  of  Japan  came  to  the  conclusion  that 
the  secret  lay  in  her  constitutional  form  of  government. 
It  enlisted  the  interest  of  the  people  in  their  own  national 
affairs,  and  taught  them  to  act  like  one  man  under  a 
common  peril.  It  does  not  belong  to  us  to  judge  the 
truth  of  this  solution,  but  the  fact  is  that  it  had  already 
resulted  in  a comprehensive  plan  of  national  reform  in 
China.  The  impartial  historian  cannot  be  blind  to  the 
close  relation  of  this  new  situation  to  the  success  of 
Japan’s  reform  brought  home  to  China  by  the  recent 
war. 

Thus  far  we  have  seen  only  some  of  the  larger  effects 
of  the  war  that  have  been  produced  in  China.  It  may  be 
imagined  that  as  great  effects  have  entailed  upon  Japan 
also.  Her  position  among  the  Powers  of  the  world  has 
been  materially  raised,  her  freedom  of  future  growth 
has  been  amply  assured,  and  her  responsibility  as  a na- 
tion has  suddenly  increased.  In  short,  both  for  China 
and  for  Japan,  the  war  has  created  a new  world  and  a 
new  atmosphere  such  as  have  seldom  been  paralleled  in 
history.  It  could  not  be  expected  that  a nation  of  fifty 
million  souls,  like  Japan,  or  of  four  hundred  million,  like 
China,  would  be  able  to  adjust  itself  to  the  new  situa- 
tion so  abruptly  opened  before  it  without  making  costly 
blunders.  It  would  be  as  unjust  to  ignore  these  blunders, 
as  to  exaggerate  them.  We  may  perhaps  make  an  at- 
tempt to  analyze  the  nature  of  the  errors  that  have  been 
committed  by  China  and  Japan  in  their  mutual  relation 
during  the  brief  period  of  preparation  for  their  respective 
new  careers. 

Let  us  first  take  Japan  to  task.  Although  she  staked 
her  fortune  in  the  war  on  the  issue  of  the  two  principles 


333 


JAPAN’S  RELATION  TO  CHINA 

of  the  new  diplomacy,  she  was  compelled,  partly  from 
military  necessity,  and  partly  from  the  imperative  need 
of  preventing  a renewal  of  Russian  aggression  in  Man- 
churia, to  build  a railway  between  the  Korean  border 
and  Mukden ; and  to  secure  from  Russia,  with  the  con- 
sent of  China,  and  with  necessary  modifications,  all  the 
concessions  that  the  former  had  gained  from  the  latter 
south  of  the  city  of  Chang-chun.  I have  no  time  to  enter 
into  the  detail  of  the  complex  arrangement  in  southern 
Manchuria,  which  I discussed  rather  fully  in  the  Yale 
Reviezv  for  August  and  November,  1908,  and  May,  1909, 
so  far  as  was  practicable  at  those  dates.  It  will  be  seen 
in  these  articles  that  all  the  privileges  Japan  secured  in 
Manchuria  were  essentially  of  the  same  nature  as  those 
enjoyed  by  all  the  Powers  in  China,  including  the  United 
States,  conjointly  by  all  or  separately  by  each  one,  in 
other  parts  of  China.  Nor  has  Japan’s  actual  conduct  in 
Manchuria  been  more  aggressive  or  less  justified  than 
that  of  other  Powers  in  other  sections  of  the  Empire. 
Yet  the  former  has  been  severely  criticised  by  the  outside 
world,  and  that  for  very  natural  reasons.  Japan  had  in- 
culcated throughout  the  world  the  need  of  the  principles 
of  the  new  diplomacy  in  China  by  means  of  her  brilliant 
warfare  and  subsequent  diplomacy,  and  made  them  the 
world’s  point  of  view'  in  regard  to  Manchuria.  After  thus 
inviting  the  scrutiny  of  the  world  upon  her  own  con- 
duct in  this  territory,  she  has  inherited  here  from  Russia 
certain  fruits  of  the  latter’s  old  diplomacy.  The  w'orld’s 
understanding  of  the  new  diplomacy  is  simple  and  the- 
oretical, while  the  conduct  of  special  privileges  is,  as  is 
evident  from  Mr.  Straight’s  experience  in  China  at  this 
moment,  always  complex,  at  times  tortuous,  and  often 
seems  almost  contrary  to  the  new  principles,  even  if  it 
does  not  violate  them.  In  this  fundamental  foible  of 
Japan’s  delicate  position  in  Manchuria,  those  foreigners 


334 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


who  had  special  reasons  to  be  unfriendly  to  Japan  espied 
the  opportunity  to  alienate  her  from  the  jealous  China 
and  the  unknowing  world.  In  this  juncture,  Japan  has 
unwittingly  but  straightway  walked  into  the  snare.  For 
she  had  hardly  time  to  revise  her  national  consciousness 
so  as  to  adjust  it  to  the  new  rights  and  responsibilities 
that  had  been  abruptly  thrust  upon  her  as  results  of  the 
war.  Few  nations  had  been  carried  into  so  novel  a situ- 
ation within  so  short  a period  as  Japan  was  between 
1904  and  1905.  Her  subjects  and  officials  who  came  to 
Manchuria  in  the  wake  of  the  war  had  hardly  realized 
the  new  position  of  China  and  the  new  attitude  of  the 
world  toward  her.  They  were  too  full  with  the  conscious- 
ness that  China  would  have  lost  Manchuria  but  for 
Japan’s  terrible  sacrifice,  to  remember  that,  on  the  con- 
trary, the  Chinese  and  the  foreign  merchants  in  Man- 
churia “ expected  that  Japan  would  hand  over  to  them 
the  entire  fruits  of  her  tremendous  effort,  and  claim 
nothing  for  herself,”  and  still  less  to  remember  that  her 
position  had,  because  of  her  very  victory,  become  all  the 
more  difficult  and  her  responsibility  increased.  The 
Japanese  in  Manchuria,  therefore,  committed  many  er- 
rors, especially  in  their  effort  to  secure  commercial  su- 
premacy in  southern  Manchuria,  and  gave  rise  to  criti- 
cisms some  of  which  they  merited. 

Thus  far  we  have  seen  the  nature  of  Japan’s  blunders 
during  her  period  of  transition  and  adjustment.  Let 
us  now  turn  to  the  errors  of  China  in  her  relation,  not 
only  with  Japan,  but  with  all  the  Powers.  Every  lover 
of  justice  and  progress  rejoices  in  China’s  reform  move- 
ment, and  wishes  it  godspeed,  but  no  true  friend  of 
China  should  be  blind  to  certain  difficulties  which  beset 
it,  and  which,  if  unwisely  encouraged,  might  not  only  de- 
feat the  main  objects  of  the  reform  itself,  but  bring  about 
serious  evils  upon  China  and  the  world.  We  refer,  for 


JAPAN’S  RELATION  TO  CHINA  335 


one  thing,  to  the  blind  chauvinism  of  a large  body  of  the 
Chinese.  This  spirit  has  for  ages  manifested  itself  in 
the  historic  idea  that  China  was  the  center  of  the  civilized 
world  and  all  other  nations  having  relations  with  her 
were  her  dependencies  or  tributaries.  History  records 
how  this  dogma  stifled  the  Catholic  mission  work  in  China 
in  the  seventeenth  century,  how  it  brought  about  the  dis- 
aster of  the  Opium  and  Arrow  wars  upon  her,  and  how 
it  broke  out  in  a widespread  anti-foreign  movement  so 
late  as  1900.  The  same  sentiment  now  takes  the  form  of 
China  for  the  Chinese — a worthy  aspiration,  but  unfor- 
tunately accompanied  with  little  regard  to  China’s  obli- 
gations to  other  nations.  The  advocates  of  this  idea 
would  enforce  her  sovereign  rights,  conceived  in  a sur- 
prisingly crude  manner,  without  sufficient  strength  to 
guard  them,  and  without  remembering  her  duties  as  a 
nation  and  her  special  obligations  as  a hitherto  half-inde- 
pendent nation.  They  would  give  no  more  concessions 
and  revoke  all  the  old  concessions.  They  ignore  that 
China  lacks  sufficient  movable  capital  to  develop  her 
own  resources,  while  it  is  evident  that  no  measure  of 
national  reform  would  be  effective  without  means  of 
easy  communication  between  all  parts  of  the  Empire, 
and  without  first  husbanding  her  vast  resources  and 
energy.  These  men  also  would,  if  that  were  possible, 
abrogate  all  other  so-called  “ treaty  rights  ” and  “ vested 
interests  ” of  other  nations,  which  are  no  doubt  vestiges 
of  the  old  diplomacy,  but  which  have  their  terms  to  run 
or  are  otherwise  entitled  to  proper  protection.  The  re- 
actionary movement  resembles  the  reform  movement  only 
on  the  surface,  for  they  are  both  based  on  the  praise- 
worthy desire  to  rehabilitate  China,  but  the  former  is  the 
antidote  of  the  latter,  and  is  at  once  unstatesmanlike,  im- 
practicable, and  extremely  dangerous  first  of  all  to  China. 
The  genuine  reformers,  like  the  Prince  Regent,  would 


336 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


first  aim  at  strengthening  China  by  reorganizing  her  in- 
stitutions and  developing  her  great  resources,  and  by 
discharging  honorably  all  the  obligations  to  other  nations 
which  are  legitimate.  Then,  and  then  only,  would  China 
be  truly  independent,  sovereign,  and  powerful,  the  terms 
of  all  the  dangerous  concessions  having  in  the  meantime 
expired  and  foreign  municipalities  at  last  restored  to  Chi- 
nese rule.  These  wise  reformers  are,  however,  unfortu- 
nately in  the  minority  at  present,  and  are  often  obliged 
to  yield  to  the  chauvinistic  sentiment  that  prevails  among 
the  gentry  and  officials.  There  is  not  a single  Power 
having  relations  with  China  that  has  not  been  seriously 
obstructed  in  its  just  dealings  by  this  universal  reac- 
tionary movement.  The  American  capitalists  who  have 
proposed  to  advance  a part  of  the  loans  for  the  Hankow- 
Canton  and  Hankow-Szechwan  railways  have  experienced 
the  same  difficulty  in  the  vigorous  opposition  made  by 
the  gentry  of  Hupeh  and  Hunan  against  any  foreign 
loan.  These  men  might  have  prevailed  but  for  the  reso- 
lute policy  of  the  chief  commissioner,  Chang  Chi-Tung, 
to  complete  and  manage  these  lines  as  model  railways. 

The  situation  has  been  made  worse  by  another  habit 
of  the  Chinese  political  mind,  which  also  is  a product 
of  peculiar  conditions  that  have  characterized  the  long 
history  of  this  Empire.  When  China  deals  with  several 
Powers  at  once,  she  is  in  the  habit  of  setting  them  against 
one  another  in  such  a manner  as  to  weary  them  with 
their  mutual  quarrel  and  to  reap  the  benefit  therefrom 
for  herself.  The  annals  of  China  are  singularly  full  of 
examples  of  this  practice.  It  is  only  in  recent  months 
that  the  press  in  England  awoke  to  the  fact  that  China 
had  been  engaged  in  alienating  Japan  from  her  ally  and 
appealing  to  the  moral  support  of  the  misguided  world 
with  every  means  at  her  disposal.  The  Americans  have 
not  been  subjected  to  this  sort  of  dealing  except  in  the 


JAPAN’S  RELATION  TO  CHINA  337 

slight  instances  of  1896-7,  when  the  commissioner,  Sheng, 
allowed  British,  American,  and  Belgian  capitalists  to  fight 
among  themselves  in  the  dark,  to  the  benefit  of  the  Bel- 
gians and  to  China’s  own  regrets  in  later  years ; and  again 
in  the  present  instance  of  the  Hankow-Canton  and  Han- 
kow-Szechwan  railway  loan,  in  which  the  Germans  were 
allowed  surreptitiously  to  compete  with  the  British  and 
French,  and  in  which  pledges  of  1903  and  1904  with  the 
British  and  Americans  were  ignored  until  they  were 
obliged  to  protest  against  the  breach  of  faith. 

It  is  impossible  to  overestimate  the  insidious  danger 
to  China  that  must  result  from  indulging  in  this  blind 
policy  of  reaction  and  intrigue.  It  is  often  said  that 
China  is  in  a great  national  crisis,  but  it  should  be  re- 
membered that  more  crises  exist  within  than  without. 
The  international  position  of  China  is  to-day  much  more 
secure  than  it  was  before  the  recent  war,  so  that  the  op- 
portunity for  China  to  reform  herself  unmolested  by  the 
outside  w'orld  is  now  better  than  it  ever  has  been.  What 
seriously  obstructs  her  reform  and  at  the  same  time  ex- 
poses her  to  any  possible  external  danger  is  her  own  his- 
toric mental  habit  and  lack  of  foresight  to  perceive  her 
danger.  Unless  she  exercised  a sufficient  degree  of  re- 
flection and  self-denial  to  rise  above  the  habitual,  unen- 
lightened policy  of  reaction  and  intrigue,  and  build  up 
first  of  all  her  own  sources  of  national  strength,  it  is  safe 
to  say  that  she  would  never  be  a full  sovereign  nation. 
Japan  was  once  confronted  by  the  same  problem,  and 
her  present  position  is  owing  wholly  to  the  resoluteness 
with  which  she  then  suppressed  her  natural  reactionary 
feeling  and  has  since  reformed  her  institutions  and  hus- 
banded her  resources.  If  one  pictured  in  his  mind  the 
worthy  aspiration  of  one  section  of  the  Chinese  nation 
to  remodel  its  national  life  upon  a modern  basis,  by  the 
side  of  a much  larger  and  stronger  section  clamoring  for 


338 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


crude  rights  guarded  by  no  real  strength  and  attended  by 
no  obligations,  he  would  at  once  see  that  a sharp  discrim- 
ination between  them  was  necessary,  and  that  any  sym- 
pathy shown  with  the  latter  sentiment  was  misplaced  and 
conducive  to  the  defeat  of  the  admirable  movement  for  a 
national  reform. 

Now,  all  these  unfortunate  circumstances  on  both  the 
Japanese  and  Chinese  side  have  been  enumerated  with  a 
full  conviction  that  they  are  temporary,  and  that  they  her- 
ald the  coming  of  a better  age  in  China’s  relation  with 
Japan  and  all  the  Powers.  It  is  unreasonable  to  expect 
any  historic  nation  with  all  the  inertia  of  its  past  ages  to 
adjust  itself  quickly  to  a situation  so  suddenly  changed 
as  that  of  China  and  Japan  after  the  recent  war.  To  re- 
gard their  errors  at  this  transitional  age  as  normal  and  as 
liable  to  be  always  repeated  is  too  much  to  distrust  the 
wonderful  good  sense  of  the  Chinese  nation  and  the  re- 
markable catholicity  and  self-reflection  of  the  Japanese. 
Practical  catholicity  has  been  the  greatest  saving  quality 
of  Japan  throughout  the  ages.  If  you  do  not  know  this 
quality,  you  know  little  of  the  Japanese  people.  Their 
history  presents  striking  instances — in  the  seventh  and 
ninth  centuries,  in  their  Chinese  relations,  and,  in  the 
nineteenth,  in  their  European  relations — in  which  this 
quality  extricated  Japan  from  grave  national  perils. 
Here  is  a nation  which  has  never  deceived  or  stultified 
itself  for  any  great  length  of  time.  In  the  present  crisis, 
also,  time  and  experience  will  bring  the  Japanese  to  a 
lively  appreciation  of  their  past  errors  and  of  their  new 
responsibilities  toward  their  own  country  and  China.  To 
my  mind,  the  signs  of  this  second  awakening  of  Japan 
seem  already  abundant.  She  is  living  in  an  inspiring 
period  in  which  each  half-year  brings  more  lessons  to 
her  enlivened  curiosity  than  would  a decade  in  a normal 
age,  and  the  Japanese  of  1909  appear  to  me  much  saner 


JAPAN’S  RELATION  TO  CHINA  339 

and  fairer  than  the  Japanese  of  1906  and  1907  under  the 
foreign  ministry  of  Viscount  Ilayashi.  As  for  the 
Chinese,  they  have  always  moved  more  slowly  than  the 
Japanese,  and  the  fact  has  brought  much  misfortune 
upon  them,  but,  when  they  are  once  fully  convinced,  they 
move  with  unerring  good  sense  and  with  mighty  force. 
The  present  reform  movement,  which  has  come  about  at 
last  after  seventy  years  of  bitter  experience,  which  is  of 
the  most  radical  character  in  the  whole  history  of  the 
Empire,  but  which  will  not  again  turn  back,  is  an  illus- 
tration of  this  quality.  Dr.  Headland  has,  in  his  re- 
markable addresses,  given  you  many  intimate  examples 
of  the  innate  good  sense  of  the  Chinese.  Among  the 
most  recent  events,  I have  been  most  forcibly  impressed 
by  the  masterly  manner  in  which  the  peace  of  the  Court 
and  the  Capital  was  maintained  at  the  successive  demises 
of  the  late  Emperor  and  the  Empress  Dowager;  by  the 
clever  way  in  which  the  present  Empress  Dowager  has 
quietly  and  with  dignity  been  placed  in  a position  at  once 
exalted  and  too  far  removed  from  the  actual  government 
to  influence  it  with  her  personal  views ; by  the  freedom 
with  which  the  Government  has  been  employing  the  serv- 
ice, without  regard  to  their  birth,  of  men  who  have 
studied  abroad ; and  by  the  practical  conservatism  shown 
in  the  program  of  a progressive  reform  to  be  carried 
out  in  the  course  of  ten  years.  Specially  notable  are  the 
measures  regarding  national  defense,  communication,  and 
judicial  affairs,  which,  if  executed,  would  result  in 
greatly  strengthening  the  central  government  at  the  ex- 
pense of  the  provincial.  It  is  impressive  enough  to  see 
the  promulgation  of  these  measures  which,  in  effect,  con- 
tradict some  of  the  most  ancient  and  tenacious  political 
traditions  of  the  nation,  but  it  is  even  more  remarkable 
that  they  have  so  far  met  practically  no  opposition  from 
the  jealous  provincial  authorities.  Time  passes,  and 


340 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


China’s  practical  wisdom  seems  to  have  grown  with  it. 
I venture  to  think  that  we  may  depend  upon  it  that,  after 
a little  more  experience,  the  Chinese  will  be  able  to  free 
their  reform  movement  from  the  blind  reactionary  spirit 
which,  however  worthy  as  a motive,  invites  troubles  and 
retards  progress.  At  present,  the  reform  movement  is 
weaker  than  the  reactionary  movement,  but  the  former 
is  the  new  but  main  force,  and  the  latter  is  a historic  im- 
pediment of  a nature  that  will  be  finally  overcome. 
It  is  in  this  process,  rather  than  in  furthering  the  thought- 
less reaction,  that  Japan  and  the  United  States  might 
assist  China  with  loyal  service. 

When  the  time  comes  when  these  expectations  are  ful- 
filled, that  is,  when  China  and  Japan  pursue  the  same 
path  of  reform  with  the  same  modern  spirit  infused  into 
their  old  common  culture,  the  days  of  their  abnormal 
friction  will  have  ended,  and  those  of  their  mutual 
stimulus  and  support  will  have  begun.  The  period  of 
transition  and  adjustment  will  have  been  followed  by  one 
of  free  competition  among  the  two  nations  and  their 
equality  with  the  Western  nations.  Those  who  would, 
from  whatever  motive,  separate  China  and  Japan  wider 
and  longer  than  would  be  natural,  seem  to  forget  that 
the  ethnic  and  geographical  ties  of  the  two  Oriental 
nations,  reinforced,  as  they  are,  by  sixteen  centuries  of 
their  historic  and  cultural  relations  of  the  most  intimate 
character  recorded  in  human  history,  are  far  too  close 
and  too  vital  to  break  under  any  temporary  disagree- 
ment between  them  of  a few  decades’  standing.  An 
immediate  proof  of  this  statement  is  the  profound  in- 
fluence exerted  by  Japan  upon  China’s  career  of  reform. 
She  has  not  only  been  inspired  by  Japan’s  living  example 
more  than  by  any  other  agency,  but  also  has,  of  her  own 
accord,  either  modeled  after  the  Japanese  pattern  or 
followed  Japanese  advice,  to  a very  large  extent,  in  fram- 


341 


JAPAN’S  RELATION  TO  CHINA 

ing  her  new  systems  of  law,  education,  police,  railway 
administration,  army  and  navy,  and — more  important 
than  all  the  rest — the  very  principles  of  a contemplated 
constitution.  China  first  sent  men  to  all  the  principal 
constitutional  governments  in  the  world,  including  the 
United  States,  to  study  their  systems,  and  then,  after  de- 
liberation, sent  men  only  to  the  constitutional  monarchies, 
Germany,  England,  and  Japan.  The  results  of  investi- 
gation in  Japan  have,  as  was  perfectly  natural  from  the 
similarity  of  the  original  forms  of  government  in  the 
two  countries,  had  the  greatest  influence  upon  the  con- 
stitutional ideas  of  Chinese  reformers.  Again,  consider 
such  educational  campaign  carried  forward  between  the 
two  nations  as. that  of  the  Japanese  association  known 
as  the  To- A Do-bun  Kwai,  in  training  Chinese  students 
in  Japan  and  Japanese  students  in  China,  and  in  com- 
piling monumental  works  on  the  politics,  geography  and 
economics  of  China,  which  in  their  thoroughness  and  ac- 
curacy are  unrivalled  in  any  language.  In  this  work,  as 
well  as  many  others,  Japan’s  share  in  China’s  reform 
could  hardly  be  parallelled  by  that  of  any  Western  nation 
with  the  expenditure  of  any  amount  of  money  and 
energy,  for  the  former  is  possible  only  with  the  profound 
affinity  existing  between  the  two  nations  and  the  incom- 
parable advantage  arising  from  it.  Japan  is  thus  silently 
aiding  China  more  efficiently  than  any  other  nation  to 
make  her  a powerful  independent  nation.  Add  to  this 
the  economic  bond  of  the  two  nations,  which  is  not  only 
close,  but  is  vital,  and  increasingly  vital,  as  is  the  case 
with  the  trade  relation  of  no  Western  nation  with  either 
Japan  or  China.  These  two  nations  will  stimulate  each 
other’s  power  of  production  and  of  purchase,  and  the 
communuity  of  interest  between  them  is  bound  to  become 
an  overwhelming  element  in  the  national  life  of  each. 
There  is  little  doubt  that,  with  the  construction  of  all 


342 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


the  railways  projected  in  China,  the  world’s  commerce 
with  her  will  assume  a stupendous  proportion,  and  she 
will  take  on  a new  economic  aspect : the  opening  of  the 
Peking-Hankow  railway  is  already  increasing  the  trad- 
ing activity  along  the’  lower  Yangtsze  and  the  export  of 
products  of  North  China ; the  completion  of  the  Hankow- 
Canton  railway  is  expected  to  induce  the  grains  of 
Hunan  to  go  out  in  greatly  increased  quantities  and  its 
coal  to  compete  with  Japanese  coal  at  Shanghai ; the 
Szechwan  railway  will  develop  the  kerosene  oil,  rock 
salt  and  other  rich  resources  of  the  Province,  and  open 
therein  a large  rharket  for  sugar,  cotton  yam,  marine 
products,  and  the  like,  from  abroad ; and  the  Tientsin- 
Pukow  railway  may  stimulate  coal  mining  in  Shansi, 
gold  and  silver  mining  in  Shantung,  and  agriculture  in 
Honan  and  Kiangsu,  and  eventually  affect  the  world’s 
market  of  these  products.  In  this  coming  economic  re- 
vival of  the  East,  the  commerce  of  no  other  nation  with 
China  will  compare  in  vitality,  if  not  in  volume,  with 
that  which  will  grow  between  China  and  Japan. 

All  these  conditions  point  to  the  coming  of  a new  era 
in  their  relation  with  each  other.  It  is  more  than  prob- 
able that  they  will  continue  to  make  errors  in  their  mutual 
relations,  and  the  competition  is  expected  to  increase, 
and  no  alliance  or  federation  is  imaginable  between  them. 
It  is  therefore  no  prophecy,  but  mere  common  sense,  to 
believe  that  the  future  years  will  find  the  two  nations  in 
manly  rivalry,  and  in  an  increasingly  common  economic 
and  cultural  bond  which  is  closer  and  stronger  than  that 
of  either  of  them  with  any  other  Power.  This  would 
be  a normal  state  of  things,  and  there  is  nothing  of  suffi- 
cient power  to  prevent  its  ultimate  realization.' 

I cannot  conclude  this  paper  without  a brief  reference 

' Nothing  better  illustrates  the  temporary  nature  of  the  fric- 
tion between  China  and  Japan  and  their  capacity  eventually  to 


343 


JAPAN’S  RELATION  TO  CHINA 

to  the  imperative  need,  in  the  interest  of  Chinese  reform 
and  progress,  of  a good  understanding  of  each  other’s 
policy  between  Japan  and  the  United  States.  The  wel- 
fare of  the  East  would  never  be  assured  were  these  two 
nations  unfriendly  to  each  other  in  that  part  of  the 
world,  while,  on  the  other  hand,  no  two  nations  could 
have  a larger  influence  on  China’s  future  than  they. 
Without  reference  to  persons  and  incidents,  however,  I 
venture  to  suggest  that,  in  this  connection,  there  are  two 
or  three  circumstances  which  are  liable  to  be  turned  to 
use  by  those  who  may  be  interested  in  alienating  the  two 
friendly  nations  from  each  other.  First  is  the  beautiful 
spontaneous  sympathy  worthy  of  a great  republic  which 
the  American  nation  always  feels  for  a backward  nation 
striving  for  freedom  and  progress.  It  is  this  sentiment 
which  was  shown  to  Japan  until  the  end  of  the  recent 
war,  and  which  is  now  beginning  to  be  bestowed  on 
China  as  she  enters  upon  her  new  career.  It  cannot  be 
denied  that  certain  Chinese  have  been  playing  on  this 
sentiment  for  an  interest  other  than  that  of  reform,  and 
it  is  possible  that  certain  Americans  might  use  the  same 
means  for  attaching  China  to  the  United  States  as  against 
Japan.  Enough  has  been  said,  however,  to  suggest  that 
it  would  be  disastrous  to  the  cause  of  reform  and  to  the 
world’s  ultimate  interest  to  separate  China  from  a nation 
so  closely  related  to  her  in  race,  in  culture,  and  in 

become  helpful  rivals  of  each  other,  than  these  larger  disputes 
in  Manchuria  which  have  been  happily  adjusted  by  a remarkable 
series  of  mutual  concessions  made  by  the  two  countries  in  their 
agreements  of  August  19  and  September  4,  1909.  Nor  is  it  easy 
to  find  a better  example  than  in  the  treatment  of  these  agree- 
ments by  the  American  press,  of  the  manner  in  which  light  is 
withheld  and  discussion  curbed  by  controlling  interests  on 
Eastern  affairs  of  certain  descriptions.  The  reader  is  referred 
to  the  text  and  an  explanation  of  the  agreements  published  by 
the  present  speaker  in  the  Yale  Review  for  November,  1909. 


344 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


economics,  and  so  nearly  alike  in  the  career  of  reform, 
that  she  is  borrowing  from  it  even  her  principles  of  the 
constitution. 

Second  is  the  still  imperfect  understanding  of  the 
Japanese  history  and  Japanese  character  in  the  United 
States.  The  two  nations  possess  at  once  qualities  per- 
fectly intelligible  and  those  almost  incomprehensible  to 
each  other.  Until  the  latter  are  thoroughly  mastered,  it 
is  little  wonder  that  motives  should  be  ascribed  to  Japan 
in  her  relation  with  China  and  with  the  United  States 
which  may  be  utterly  foreign  to  herself. 

Finally,  the  very  principles  of  the  new  diplomacy  might 
be  employed  for  the  purpose  of  creating  a misunderstand- 
ing. This  might  be  attempted  all  the  more  easily  because 
of  the  two  dogmas  which  the  American  public  has  been 
taught  to  believe : namely,  that  America  alone  has  every- 
thing to  gain  by  China’s  strength,  and  everything  to  lose 
by  her  weakness,  while  the  interest  of  all  other  Powers 
is  exactly  the  reverse ; and  that  the  principles  of  the  new 
diplomacy  originated  with  the  American  Department  of 
State.  A little  reflection  will  show  the  impartial  student 
the  absurdity  of  the  first  dogma.  To  say  that  America 
has  no  territorial  advantage  in  China  is  not  to  say  that 
she  does  not  enjoy  with  other  nations  municipal  and 
judicial  advantages  at  treaty  ports,  which  encroach  upon 
Chinese  sovereignty,  or  that  certain  American  capitalists 
do  not  seek  concessions  for  railway  and  other  industrial 
enterprises,  some  of  which  the  reactionary  Chinese  resent, 
and  bring  the  Chinese  finance  nearer  and  nearer  to  the 
verge  of  insolvency.  It  would  be  impossible  to  demon- 
strate that  America  would  not  with  other  nations  oppose 
a premature  surrender  of  the  present  arrangement  at 
the  treaty  ports,  and  that  any  of  the  more  important 
nations  would  not  with  America  suffer  from  a continued 
weakness  of  China,  and  oppose  the  conversion  of  any 


JAPAN’S  RELATION  TO  CHINA  345 

part  of  her  territory  into  an  exclusive  economic  sphere 
of  any  foreign  Power.  As  for  the  second  dogma,  that 
the  late  Secretary  Hay  originated  the  two  principles  of 
the  new  diplomacy,  and  compelled  other  Powers  to  make 
agreements  to  follow  them,  a casual  reading  of  his  cir- 
culars in  1899  and  1900,  and  the  responses  of  the  Powers 
to  that  of  the  former  year  will  prove  that  Mr.  Hay 
neither  originated  these  principles  nor  secured  definite 
agreements  regarding  them  from  the  Powers.  It  is  not 
intended  to  detract  a particle  from  the  important  service 
done  by  him  in  reminding  the  whole  world,  through  his 
notable  act  in  1899,  that  the  growing  interest  of  the 
powerful  American  nation  in  the  Orient  demanded  the 
maintenance  of  equal  opportunity  in  China.  My  slight 
studies  of  the  period  lead  me  to  conclude  that  the  prin- 
ciples of  the  new  diplomacy  as  working  theories  among 
the  Powers,  were  first  clearly  conceived  and  upheld  by 
Great  Britain,  have  been  advocated  with  the  greatest 
theoretical  consistency  by  the  United  States,  and  have 
been  practically  enforced  in  Manchuria  against  Russia 
by  Japan  with  great  sacrifice,  and  further  embodied  by 
her  in  her  agreements  and  declarations  with  Great 
Britain,  France,  Russia,  and  the  United  States.  The 
current  ideas  in  America  about  Chinese  diplomacy  afiford 
a striking  example  of  the  way  in  which  unhistorical 
dogmas  rise  and  grow  in  broad  daylight  in  a civilized 
society  of  the  twentieth  century.  It,  of  course,  matters 
little  that  the  people  hold  to  these  inaccurate  ideas,  but 
the  errors  assume  a somewhat  serious  aspect  when  they 
are  used  by  interested  persons  as  a means  of  propagat- 
ing the  notion  that  America  must,  for  the  ostensible  in- 
terest of  the  two  principles,  antagonize  herself  to  the 
Power  that  has  done  by  far  the  largest  service  in  estab- 
lishing them  and  making  them  the  common  faith  of  the 
world.  The  fact  that  a nation  is  working  concessions 


346  CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


and  has  made  temporary  blunders  in  the  process  hardly 
constitutes  a violation  of  the  principles;  and  the  time  is 
rapidly  coming,  if  it  has  not  already  arrived,  when  this 
country  with  her  present  and  future  concessions  in  China 
will  find  herself  sharing  the  same  point  of  view.  It  is 
also  unfair  to  ignore  the  important  fact  that  thus  far 
America  has  exported  nothing  from  Manchuria,  and 
that  this  fundamental  point  has  been  the  constant  de- 
terrent factor  in  the  progress  of  the  American  import 
trade  there;  while,  on  the  other  hand,  Japan,  in  addition 
to  her  geographical  proximity,  her  kinship  in  race  and 
culture,  and  her  efficient  control  of  her  own  economic 
forces,  naturally  enjoys  a superior  advantage  arising 
from  the  fact  that  she  is  expending  in  Manchuria  an 
enormous  amount  of  capital  and  skill,  buying  a large 
majority  of  its  exports,  and  otherwise  developing  its  re- 
sources, stimulating  its  progress,  and  increasing  its  pur- 
chasing power  and  general  foreign  trade.  If,  in  availing 
herself  of  her  vantage  ground  in  Manchuria,  Japan  is 
actually  violating  the  principles  of  the  new  diplomacy, 
it  is  high  time  for  the  United  States,  for  the  interest  of 
her  and  the  world’s  commerce  in  the  Orient,  to  protest. 
It  would  be  better  to  confess,  as  has  done  our  honored 
Judge  Wilfley,  that  it  is  the  interest — the  political  and 
commercial  interest — of  the  United  States  that  demands 
the  maintenance  of  the  integrity  and  the  open  door  of 
China,  than  to  make  unfair  uses  of  the  fair  principles. 
The  interest  of  the  same  United  States  has  dictated 
different  policies,  according  to  special  conditions,  toward 
Mexico,  toward  Spain,  toward  Hawaii,  and  now  toward 
China.  It  is  one  of  the  best  things  in  the  world’s  his- 
tory, I venture  to  think,  that  the  Chinese  policy  of 
America  happens  to  coincide  largely  with  what  the  more 
permanent  interest  of  all  the  world  demands  in  the  East. 
What  a misfortune  to  humanity  it  would  have  been  had 


JAPAN’S  RELATION  TO  CHINA  347 


this  country  been  oblif^ed  to  pursue  a contrary  policy, 
like  the  one,  for  example,  which  President  Polk  did  to- 
ward Mexico.  There  is  no  intelligible  reason  why  Japan 
and  Great  Britain,  at  least,  would  not  find  their  larger 
interest  in  China  identical  with  that  of  the  United  States. 
It  should  be  a lasting  glory  of  America  that,  while 
promoting  in  China  interests  still  limited  to  a compara- 
tively few  of  her  own  citizens,  she  is  enabled  at  the  same 
time  to  subserve  the  common  and  permanent  interest  of 
the  world  in  the  Orient. 

The  present  state  of  opinion  in  America  about  this 
momentous  question  seems  to  contain  two  tendencies 
seemingly  alike  but  radically  opposed  to  each  other: 
namely,  one  sincerely  aiming  at  the  development  of  the 
world’s  common  interest  in  China,  and  the  other,  actuated 
by  the  alarm  of  the  grave  financial  condition  of  China, 
hastening  to  install  in  her  territory  a large  American 
interest  in  anticipation  of  a possible  crisis,  but  with  little 
regard  to  China’s  own  interest  in  case  she  should  resume 
all  concessions  at  the  end  of  their  terms,  and,  for  the 
furtherance  of  this  policy,  seeking  to  arouse  innocent 
public  sentiment  along  the  line  of  national  self-righteous- 
ness. The  latter  tendency  manifests  itself,  among  others, 
in  a systematic  movement  through  various  agencies  to 
propagate  a sense  of  distrust  of  Japan’s  policy  toward 
China.  I am  constrained  to  observe  that  all  the  un- 
pleasant memory  of  the  rather  unimportant  Japanese 
immigration  question  which  may  still  linger  in  the  minds 
of  both  nations,  will  soon  be  found  to  be  overshadowed 
by  the  profound  irritation  so  persistently  kept  alive  by 
the  purposeful  suspicion  cast  by  a certain  section  of 
Americans  upon  a policy  held  with  common  accord  and 
sincerity  by  the  Emperor,  the  Privy  Council,  the  Cabinet, 
the  Press,  and  the  nation,  of  a very  friendly  Power.  It 
is  clear  that  no  nation  can  without  offense  continue  to 


348  CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


extol  itself  on  grounds  ill  supported  by  facts,  and,  from 
this  pulpit,  to  denounce,  for  its  own  want  of  knowledge, 
and  for  the  interest  of  its  few  citizens,  another  nation 
for  pursuing  a policy  which  it  has  matured  with  scrupu- 
lous care  for  justice  and  progress,  and  on  which  it  must 
stake  its  very  destiny.  To  say  to  your  neighbor  that  he 
is  unfit  to  enter  your  house  may  not  be  proper,  but  there 
are  circumstances  justifying  such  conduct ; the  ofifense 
would  be  infinitely  greater  in  a persistent  declaration 
that  the  neighbor  is  wrong  in  his  just  living,  since  it  is 
superficially  supposed  to  interfere  with  your  social  in- 
terest and  comfort.  If  the  offense  is  fortunately  not  yet 
felt  by  him,  the  fact  forms  no  reason  why  the  disillusion- 
ment, when  it  does  come,  would  not  be  all  the  more 
keen.  It  is  astonishing  how  few  people  realize  the 
colossal  issues  of  such  an  affront.  Intelligent  Americans 
should  squarely  meet  this  great  problem,  and  weigh  the 
consequences  of  a misguided  policy,  or  else  they  might 
find  too  late  that  the  public  sentiment  regarding  the 
Eastern  Question,  which  appears  still  indefinite,  had 
fallen  into  dangerous  channels  from  which  it  was  diffi- 
cult to  extricate  it.  It  is  not  implied  that  such  a grave 
situation  actually  exists,  but  it  would  be  unwise  to  ignore 
that  the  present  moment  is  full  of  potentialities  for  good 
and  for  ill.  It  is  to  be  sincerely  hoped  that,  whatever 
the  present  degree  of  perversion,  neither  the  Americans, 
nor  the  Japanese,  nor  the  Chinese,  will  long  be  blind  to 
the  imperative  need  of  studying  the  complex  Eastern 
Question  in  all  its  world-wide  bearing,  and  of  under- 
standing the  common  and  lasting  interest  of  humanity  in 
China. 

I have  enumerated  some  of  the  vulnerable  points  in  the 
relation  between  the  United  States  and  Japan  in  regard 
to  China.  ‘ But  I again  take  the  liberty  to  record  my 
abiding  faith  in  the  practical  and  humorous  turn  of  the 


JAPAN'S  RELATION  TO  CHINA 


349 


average  American  mind,  as  I have  already  done  in  re- 
gard to  the  good  sense  of  the  Chinese  and  the  catholic- 
ity and  clear  vision  of  the  Japanese.  It  is  likely  that  all 
attempts  to  set  the  United  States  over  against  Japan  and 
the  rest  of  the  world  on  the  Chinese  issue,  will  not  seri- 
ously commend  themselves  to  the  Americans.  It  is  still 
possible  that  the  Japanese-American  relations  in  China 
will  return  to  the  normal  state  of  manly  competition  and 
sympathetic  criticism.  That  would  be  the  only  safe 
basis  of  co-operation,  and  it  is  probable — there  can  be 
no  question  that  it  is  urgent — that  the  entire  future  re- 
lation of  Japan  and  America  may  be  based  upon  that 
basis:  namely,  I repeat,  their  manly  competition  and 
sympathetic  criticism  in  the  East. 

In  order  to  bring  about  this  wholesome  state  of  affairs, 
the  one  thing  necessary  above  all  else  is:  more  light, 
greater  freedom  of  knowing  facts,  about  the  Eastern 
Question.  The  American  public  should  insist  on  hav- 
ing it. 


i 

I 

i 


XVIII 


THE  RELATION  BETWEEN  JAPAN  AND  THE 
UNITED  STATES 

In  the  course  of  the  last  fifty  years,  the  traditional 
friendship  of  the  two  nations  on  either  side  of  the  Pacific 
Ocean  has  continually  grown  and  strengthened.  And 
the  long  list  of  incidents  which  gradually  cemented  this 
inseparable  relation,  has  so  often  been  reiterated  and  is 
so  familiar  to  you  all,  that  any  attempt  at  recounting 
it  is  out  of  place  at  this  time.  My  only  excuse  for  re- 
viewing the  past  as  briefly  as  possible,  is  because  the 
present  and  the  future  can  be  interpreted  and  guided 
only  in  the  light  of  historical  antecedents. 

Under  the  feudal  regime,  when  our  government  was 
making  treaty  after  treaty  with  nations  of  Europe  and 
America,  it  was  your  official  representative  in  Japan  that 
warned  us  of  the  national  danger  of  opium-smoking. 
When  the  United  States  legation  interpreter  was  mur- 
dered by  fanatics  in  our  capital  city,  and  ministers  of 
other  nations  withdrew  to  Yokohama  as  a manifestation 
of  their  indignation,  the  same  American  gentleman  alone 
remained  in  his  post  and  did  not  even  demand  reparation 
or  punishment.  He  simply  said  that  he  perfectly  under- 
stood the  difficulty  of  the  situation  of  the  Japanese  au- 
thorities and  was  convinced  of  their  sincerity  and  good 
faith.  After  the  organization  of  the  Imperial  Govern- 
ment, in  our  long  and  oft-baffled  efforts  to  revise  the 
one-sided,  unequal  treaties,  ratified  in  ignorance  and  in- 
ability under  the  former  rule,  the  United  States  was  the 
first  to  accept  the  revised  treaty  which  abolished  extra- 
territorial rights  and  the  conventional  tariff. 

351 


352 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


This  very  year,  when  Yokohama  was  celebrating  the 
jubilee  of  the  opening  of  its  port  to  foreign  trade,  the 
whole  nation  was  remembering  with  lasting  gratitude, 
your  magnanimous  act  of  returning  to  us  the  Shimono- 
seki  indemnity  fund,  with  which  the  harbor  of  Yokohama 
was  improved  two  decades  ago,  not  certainly  as  a con- 
dition imposed  upon  us  by  your  generosity,  but  through 
the  wise  judgment  of  the  few  men  at  the  head  of  our 
affairs.  When  General  Grant  visited  the  Far  East  he 
endeared  his  name  and  the  name  of  his  country  to  mil- 
lions of  hearts  by  arbitrating  between  China  and  Japan, 
then  at  difference  over  the  question  of  Loochoo.  What 
President  Roosevelt  did  to  put  an  end  to  the  most 
stupendous  warfare  in  modern  history,  is  almost  too 
great  and  too  fresh  in  our  memory  to  view  it  in  right 
perspective  as  yet. 

In  remodelling  our  internal  affairs,  our  infant  steps 
were  guided  by  American  teachers  and  advisers,  almost 
in  every  branch  of  knowledge  and  activity.  Large  num- 
bers of  young  men  and  women  have  been  trained  in  your 
schools  and  universities,  and  hundreds  of  Japanese 
visitors  have  been  given  hearty  reception  and  liberal  op- 
portunities of  observing  the  strongest  features  of  your 
public  and  private  life.  In  this  connection,  both  in  send- 
ing out  workers  and  receiving  students  and  travelers, 
your  New  England  has  naturally  taken  the  leading  part, 
with  its  high  culture,  keen  intelligence,  liberal  spirit,  and 
excellent  institutions.  Tens  of  thousands  of  men  and 
women  from  Japan  are  earning  their  living  and  freely 
enjoying  the  benefit  of  the  resources  and  opportunities 
of  this  great  Republic,  whose  ideals  are  sure  to  educate 
their  minds  and  hearts  into  broad  internationalism. 

When  Japan’s  altered  position  in  world  politics  re- 
quired reassurances  of  her  national  aim  and  policy,  your 
Government  jointly  with  mine  declared  its  policy  in 


JAPAN  AND  THE  UNITED  STATES  353 

regard  to  the  Pacific  Ocean  and  China.  It  is  simply  a 
“ gentleman’s  agreement  ” which  shows  strong  evidence 
of  mutual  confidence  between  the  two  nations.  An  arbi- 
tration treaty  is  signed  between  the  two  nations,  so  that 
there  could  be  no  possible  room  for  wicked  suggestions 
and  rumors  of  armed  conflict.  There  is  also  a mutual 
gpjarantee  of  the  general  peace  of  the  Pacific,  and  of 
steadfast  adherence  to  those  two  great  principles  with 
regard  to  China  which  were  first  set  forth  by  Great 
Britain,  universally  accepted  through  the  mighty  efforts 
of  the  United  States,  and  finally  enforced  upon  an  of- 
fending party  with  the  blood  of  the  sons  of  Japan.  Fre- 
quent exchanges  of  friendly  visits  and  cordial  welcomes 
have  been  going  on,  of  noted  individuals,  of  fleets  and 
naval  people,  of  parties  of  business  men  and  other  ex- 
perts. Reciprocal  assurances  of  warm  sentiments  and 
good  will  have  been  emphatically  penned  and  mouthed, 
not  only  by  diplomatic  and  consular  agents,  but  also  by 
able  writers  and  speakers  competent  to  judge  the  true 
state  of  things. 

Set  against  this  grand  array  of  forces  binding  the  two 
nations  in  the  closest  of  friendship,  all  the  combined 
attack  by  unpleasant  impossible  stories  artfully  created 
by  some  in  some  quarters,  has  now  quieted  down  and  is 
only  a small  fly  on  the  back  of  an  elephant. 

What  else  could  we  add  to  this  long  list  of  forces  and 
efforts  to  promote  and  cement  our  traditional  friendship? 
If  anything  was  still  lacking,  that  deficiency  is  now  be- 
ing made  good  in  the  institution  quite  recently  organized 
in  the  business  center  of  the  city  of  New  York,  under  the 
name  of  the  Oriental  Information  Agency.  A country- 
man of  mine  well  known  for  his  journalistic  career  is  it,s 
director,  and  the  Agency  proposes  to  supply  individual 
inquirers,  business  firms,  scholastic  bodies,  social  organ- 
izations and  so  on,  with  accurate  and  trustworthy  data 


354 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


concerning  the  conditions  of  the  Far  East,  commercial, 
industrial,  political  and  otherwise. 

It  will  also  write  to  papers  and  magazines  of  this 
country,  and  address  American  audiences,  whenever  and 
wherever  it  is  welcome,  to  give  the  Japanese  side  of  the 
story  of  the  Far  East.  This  work  is  started  on  a business 
basis  as  an  entirely  private  undertaking,  but  its  bearing 
upon  the  commercial  interest  of  the  two  nations  con- 
cerned is  recognized  by  a body  of  prominent  bankers 
and  business  men  of  Tokyo  and  Yokohama,  who  pledge 
themselves  to  back  the  worthy  scheme,  if  necessary,  with 
pecuniary  support.  I venture  to  think  that  this  will 
strongly  appeal  to  those  friends  who  were  polite  enough 
to  say  that  silence  was  one  of  the  few  faults  of  the  people 
of  Japan. 

There  is  nothing  so  effective  in  enhancing  the  friendly 
feeling  between  the  two  nations  as  a correct  knowledge  of 
each  other.  Some  time  ago  representative  business  men 
on  the  Pacific  coast  visited  our  country,  and  now  a party 
of  Japanese  business  men  is  extensively  traveling 
in  the  United  States.  I sincerely  hope  some  arrange- 
ments may  be  made  in  the  near  future  whereby  a body 
of  leaders  in  manufacture  and  commerce,  together  with 
a few  delegates  from  labor,  journalistic  and  educational 
circles,  can  take  a tour  of  inspection  from  the  Eastern 
parts  of  the  Union  to  Japan  and  China.  It  would  be 
a powerful  aid  for  smoothing  the  way  for  practical  co- 
operation of  the  two  nations,  just  commencing  their 
friendly  rivalry  in  Asiatic  markets.  When  your  keen- 
eyed but  fair-minded  commissioners  see  at  close  quarters 
what  was  the  real  status  of  American  trade  in  Manchuria, 
how  German  enterprise  is  eclipsing  other  interests  in 
China  proper,  what  are  the  true  motives  and  methods  at 
work  there,  and  how  immense  is  the  field  for  our  har- 
monious action  or  good-willed  emulation,  I am  confident 


JAPAN  AND  THE  UNITED  STATES  355 

that  it  will  advance  materially,  not  only  your  national 
interest  and  our  own,  but  also  the  cause  of  international 
friendship  based  upon  a clear  understanding  of  actual 
circumstances. 

If  the  development  in  commerce  and  industry  even  of 
such  a small  country  as  Japan  affects  the  interests 
of  America,  almost  unbounded  in  wealth  and  resources 
as  she  is,  how  vastly  must  mighty  China’s  rise  reflect  on 
the  future  prosperity  of  our  island  empire!  And  yet, 
power  to  produce  and  to  undersell  implies  ability  to  buy 
and  consume.  How  absurd  to  assume  that  our  neigh- 
bor’s gain  is  our  own  loss.  Through  wise  adjustment 
and  conciliatory  measures,  founded  upon  mutual  under- 
standing and  genuine  sympathy,  I firmly  believe  that  the 
increasing  population  of  the  earth  may  yet  live  in  har- 
mony and  friendship  at  least  for  a few  centuries  to 
come.  In  the  meantime,  mountains  may  be  levelled,  seas 
and  oceans  reclaimed,  the  conquest  of  air  completed,  icy 
poles  covered  with  verdure,  artificial  rainfall  wrought 
at  will,  so  that  more  people  could  find  room  to  live  and 
more  place  to  apply  their  activity.  The  power  of  human 
invention  is  just  beginning  to  achieve  marvels  and 
miracles. 

As  the  powerful  fleet  of  this  country  is  the  greatest 
guarantee  to  the  lasting  peace  of  the  Pacific,  so  is  China’s 
national  efficiency  a double  assurance  of  the  safety  of 
Japan’s  position.  And  what  you  are  doing  now  to  assist 
China,  is  nothing  but  an  extension  of  the  same  noble 
principles  that  prompted  you  in  leading  Japan  up  to  her 
present  position.  The  author  of  “ Asia  and  Europe  ” 
was  probably  right  when  he  said  in  the  preface  to  his 
third  edition : 

“ If,  therefore,  it  is  one  of  the  permanent  conditions 
of  history,  as  this  writer  believes,  that  Europe  should  not 
permanently  occupy  Asia  or  Asia  conquer  Europe,  the 


356 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


rise  of  Japan  into  a great  Power  must  by  degrees  in- 
crease the  difficulty  for  Europe  of  remaining  in  profit- 
able possession  of  great  sections  of  Asia.” 

The  fair-minded  American  observer,  I am  sure,  will 
find  no  cause  for  alarm  in  this  possible  tendency,  because 
he  believes  and  rejoices  in  universal  progress  of  man- 
kind, and  also  because  his  country  has  never  taken  pos- 
session of  any  section  of  the  Asiatic  continent.  But 
Meredith  Townsend,  great  writer  as  he  is,  was  certainly 
prejudiced  where  he  said:  “Asia,  strengthened  by  the 

leadership  of  Japan,  will,  as  I believe,  recover  the  inde- 
pendence which  she  will  in  all  human  probability  once 
more  misuse.” 

How  often  his  race,  the  old  continent  occupied  by  his 
race,  has  misused  its  independence  and  power  against 
other  races  and  continents ! Perhaps  his  race-conscience 
haunts  him  and  frightens  his  diseased  nerves  with  dreams 
of  Tartar  invasions.  China  and  Japan  as  leaders,  no 
continent,  no  race,  and  no  nation  need  fear  even  of  a 
semblance  of  Asiatic  incursion. 

However,  things  must  go  slowly  to  accustom  our  minds 
to  an  altered  situation.  Suppose,  for  a moment,  that 
Japan  and  China  acted  in  perfect  unison  at  this  critical 
moment,  what  would  be  the  consternation  and  dismay  of 
some  of  the  Western  Powers,  “ in  profitable  possession 
of  great  sections  of  Asia  ” ! From  this  point  of  view,  we 
can  see  the  hand  of  Providence  even  in  the  little  frictions 
between  the  two  Asiatic  neighbors,  now  reshaping  their 
mutual  relations.  Enough  criticism  and  accusation  we 
are  receiving  as  it  is,  but  the  thunderbolt  of  fury  and 
suspicion  would  simply  clash  the  progress  of  both  nations, 
were  they  to  form,  for  instance,  a defensive  alliance! 

The  same  gentleman  credits  the  Japanese  with  vanity. 
But  is  not  pride  the  backbone  of  a nation  as  well  as  of 
an  individual  ? Our  determination  never  to  be  conquered 


JAPAN  AND  THE  UNITED  STATES  357 

certainly  need  not  displease  anybody.  Everything  is  in 
a small  scale  in  Japan — our  own  stature,  the  size  of  ani- 
mals and  birds,  our  wealth  and  poverty,  even  our  vir- 
tues and  vices.  If  we  have  anything  really  big,  alto- 
gether out  of  proportion,  that  is  the  ambition  not  to  be 
behind  any  nation  or  race  in  doing  what  is  just,  good, 
and  noble  to  do.  Huge  indeed  is  our  own  opinion  of  our- 
selves 1 In  this  respect,  gentlemen,  I confidently  believe 
that  you  Americans  will  grudge  us  no  amount  of  sym- 
pathy. Limitless  in  your  natural  resources  and  energy, 
tall  in  your  person  and  buildings,  gigantic  in  your 
scientific,  industrial,  and  commercial  schemes,  you  set 
yourselves  a yet  higher  and  mightier  standard,  that  is,  of 
representing  and  embodying  in  your  national  conduct 
the  cream  and  essence  of  Western  civilization.  The 
Greco-Roman  culture,  ennobled  by  Christianity,  has  been 
refined  and  ci^’stallized,  in  its  westward  march,  and  its 
noblest  expressions,  such  as  universal  brotherhood,  in- 
ternational peace  and  justice,  chivalrous  magnanimity 
toward  struggling  weaker  nations,  sympathy  with  the 
oppressed  and  wronged  all  over  the  world — all  these 
ideals  find  their  staunch  supporters  in  this  most  favored 
and  most  favorable  land. 

And  thus  the  nation  of  the  Stars  and  that  of  the  Sun, 
your  country  and  mine,  as  exponents  of  Eastern  and 
Western  ideals,  should  continue  to  co-operate  with  all 
sympathy  and  forbearance.  That  the  two  nations  come 
to  serious  collision  is  as  impossible  to  conceive  as  that 
the  sun  and  the  stars  ever  should  clash  together.  With 
a wide  zone  of  twilight  between  us,  we  may  each  supple- 
ment the  other  in  the  common  work  set  before  us  of 
enlightening  and  beautifying  the  world.  This  is  what 
our  hearts  prompt,  our  reason  dictates,  and  to  which  the 
mighty  finger  of  history  points. 


XIX 


THE  STRENGTH  AND  EFFICIENCY  OF  THE 
JAPANESE  ARMY 

The  lesson  of  military  efficiency  was  taught  by  the 
Prussians  at  Sadowa  and  Sedan  not  long  ago.  At  a 
later  date  and  on  a smaller  scale  we  saw  it  in  the  brief 
campaign  of  the  Turkish  army  in  Thrace.  The  most 
recent  example  is  the  sudden  importance  that  Japan  has 
won  for  herself  in  the  world. 

About  the  time  of  our  own  Civil  War  military  matters 
in  Japan  were  much  as  they  were  in  Europe  during  the 
Middle  Ages.  In  one  case  the  samurai  and  in  the  other 
the  knights  of  old  constituted  a special  military  class 
and  upheld  the  feudal  system.  Warfare  consisted  largely 
of  individual  combats  in  which  the  common  people  took 
no  part  and  exerted  little  influence.  Just  as  in  Europe 
the  power  of  the  knights  was  broken  at  Morgarten  and 
at  Crecy  by  pikemen  and  bowmen,  so  the  Japanese  feudal 
system  was  broken  when  the  common  people  were  drilled 
and  disciplined  to  fight  in  war.  This  led  in  the  early 
seventies  to  the  adoption  by  Japan  of  the  great  demo- 
cratic principle  of  the  nation  in  arms,  under  wffiich  every 
able-bodied  man  is  held  to  the  service  of  the  State  in 
time  of  war. 

Under  this  idea  of  universal  military  service,  which 
has  been  adopted  by  nearly  every  great  nation  in  the 
world,  every  man  is  required  to  report  for  service  on 
reaching  the  age  of  twenty  years.  If  he  is  perfectly  fit 
and  if  he  is  wanted  he  is  enrolled  in  the  active  army; 
if  not  wanted  but  still  fit  he  passes  into  one  of  the  great 

359 


36o 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


classes  of  supernumerary  reserves.  In  Japan  the  annual 
contingent  of  youths  who  reach  the  age  of  twenty  years 
is  at  least  550,000  men.  As  this  is  much  too  large  a 
number  to  be  handled  under  any  modern  system  of  drill 
and  training,  a relatively  small  number  is  taken  to  fill  the 
active  army.  Another  contingent  are  put  aside  for 
partial  training  in  the  reserve,  and  the  balance  receive  no 
training  at  all,  but  are  still  liable  to  be  called  on  to 
serve  as  non-combatants  whenever  needed. 

In  the  active  or  peace  army,  service  originally  lasted 
for  three  years,  but  in  1906  a law  was  passed  changing  it 
to  two  years  for  infantry.  Under  this  rule  practically 
half  of  the  army  is  changed  each  year,  completing  its 
term  of  service  and  passing  into  the  reserve,  while  its 
places  are  filled  by  the  youths  of  a new  class.  In  the 
reserve  they  remain  ready  for  call  until  they  are  forty 
years  of  age,  when  their  liability  is  over.  From  time  to 
time  they  join  the  colors  again  for  short  periods  of  train- 
ing, amounting  to  four  periods  in  all  of  two  months  each. 
The  total  service  thus  in  twenty  years  amounts  to  be- 
tween three  and  four  years.  In  this  way  it  is  plain  that 
in  course  of  time  an  immense  army  is  trained  and  dis- 
ciplined and  kept  ready  for  war.  The  amount  of  time 
that  each  soldier  gives  to  the  state  during  his  lifetime 
is  not  great  in  the  aggregate.  The  loss  to  the  business 
and  industry  of  the  country  is  not  felt,  for  in  time  of 
peace  not  one  man  in  fifty  between  the  ages  of  twenty 
and  forty  is  a soldier,  under  arms,  and  not  one  in  ten  goes 
to  war  when  the  life  of  the  nation  itself  is  in  danger. 

The  army  is  made  up  of  certain  number  of  units  called 
divisions,  each  of  which  is  so  constituted  as  to  be  a 
small  army  by  itself,  with  every  necessary  component 
of  infantry,  cavalry,  artillery,  engineers,  medical  corps, 
telegraphists,  and  transport  troops. 

A division  has  its  home  in  the  district  where  it  is  re- 


EFFICIENCY  OF  THE  JAPANESE  ARMY  361 


cruited,  supplied  and  drilled.  Within  its  storehouses 
are  all  the  material  needed  to  arm  a double  or  treble  force 
of  reserves. 

Each  division  is  in  fact  so  complete  in  every  detail, 
so  near  to  its  depots  of  supplies,  so  decentralized  in  its 
administration,  that  it  only  waits  for  a word  from  the 
Emperor  to  report  itself  in  a few  days,  with  full  ranks, 
with  every  button  in  place,  every  belt  full  of  cartridges 
and  every  wagon  loaded. 

Nor  is  this  an  anomaly.  It  is  not  in  Japan  alone,  but 
in  many  other  countries  that  this  may  be  done,  following 
the  system  so  carefully  worked  out  by  the  Germans  in 
the  hundred  years  since  they  lost  the  battles  of  Auerstiidt 
and  Jena. 

The  beginnings  of  the  Japanese  army  w^ere  on  a small 
scale.  It  was  about  ten  years  after  the  introduction  of 
universal  military  service  that  Marshal  Oyama,  in  1884, 
went  to  Europe  at  the  head  of  a commission  for  the  pur- 
pose of  studying  the  military  systems  of  the  world.  The 
result  was  the  adoption  of  the  German  system,  which  had 
just  shown  its  efficiency  in  three  wars  in  seven  years. 
When  he  returned  he  brought  with  him  as  adviser  Major 
Meckel,  one  of  the  brightest  of  the  younger  officers  of 
the  German  army. 

An  army  of  seven  divisions  was  formed,  having  a 
peace  strength  of  60,000  men. 

Ten  years  later  a war  with  China  gave  an  opportunity 
to  test  the  machine.  About  100,000  men  were  sent  to 
China  and  Korea.  The  resistance  of  China  was  in- 
significant, but  the  war  showed  the  high  quality  of  the 
troops  in  a most  severe  winter  campaign ; it  showed  the 
working  of  the  system  in  its  multitudinous  details,  and 
it  showed  where  improvements  were  needed.  An  in- 
demnity of  two  hundred  million  dollars  was  paid  by 
China,  and  as  the  war  did  not  cost  more  than  half  that 


362  CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


amount,  the  money  was  used  in  betterments  of  every 
kind. 

The  activity  of  Russia  in  the  Far  East  and  the  en- 
forced abandonment  of  Port  Arthur,  left  no  doubt  in 
Japan  that  another  war  would  soon  be  necessary  if  their 
national  ambition  for  improvement  and  prosperity  should 
ever  be  realized. 

Thirteen  divisions  replaced  the  seven  of  1894.  Al- 
though at  first  sight  this  seems  to  be  nearly  a double 
force,  there  were  many  ways  in  which  it  was  a much 
greater  increase  than  that.  There  was  another  decade 
of  hard  work,  barely  twenty  years  since  the  idea  of  a 
modern  army  was  adopted,  and  thirty  years  since  the 
first  idea  of  universal  military  service.  Many  of  the 
chiefs  were  the  sword-fighters  of  early  days,  but  there 
was  no  lack  of  enthusiasm  in  the  way  in  which  they 
adopted  the  new  methods.  No  result  seems  to  be  more 
remarkable  than  this,  for  it  has  long  been  said  and  be- 
lieved that  military  men  of  all  others  are  most  tenacious 
of  existing  conditions  and  most  averse  to  change. 

The  war  with  Russia  is  another  story.  Japan  was  not 
entirely  ready  for  war.  The  military  system  had  not 
been  running  long  enough  to  accumulate  sufficient  re- 
serves of  fully  trained  men.  This  was  a great  disad- 
vantage and  probably  resulted  in  the  war  ending  with  a 
greatly  superior  force  on  the  side  of  the  Russians.  The 
last  great  battle  was  at  Mukden,  where  the  Japanese  had 
more  than  300,000  men  engaged  and  2,000  guns — many 
of  large  caliber.  They  fought  for  two  weeks  over  a 
front  of  sixty  miles,  and  lost  more  than  70,000  killed  and 
wounded  in  that  single  battle.  The  success  of  the  Japa- 
nese was  quite  uniform,  their  losses  in  prisoners  and 
guns  from  first  to  last  were  insignificant.  They  won 
many  great  battles,  often  with  only  equal  or  inferior 
forces,  and  pushed  the  Russians  back  past  Liao  Yang, 


EFFICIENCY  OF  THE  JAPANESE  ARMY  363 


Sha  Ho,  Mukden  and  Tielin  by  the  force  of  persistent 
and  tireless  attacks.  The  greatest  tribute  that  they  have 
received  came  from  Kuropatkin  himself,  the  Russian 
commander.  He  said : “ The  education  of  the  Japanese 
was  carried  out  in  a martial  spirit  and  on  patriotic  lines. 
The  nation  believed  in  and  respected  the  army  and  were 
willing  and  proud  to  serve.  An  iron  discipline  was  pre- 
served. They  responded  with  unanimous  enthusiasm  to 
the  call  to  arms.  There  were  instances  where  mothers 
committed  suicide  when  their  sons  were  rejected  for  the 
army  on  medical  grounds.  A call  for  volunteers  for  a 
forlorn  hope  produced  hundreds  ready  to  face  a certain 
death,  while  many  officers  had  funeral  rites  performed 
before  leaving  for  the  front  to  show  their  intention  of 
dying  for  their  country.  Those  who  were  taken  prisoners 
at  the  commencement  of  operations  committed  suicide. 
This  was  the  spirit  that  produced  regiments  which  hurled 
themselves  upon  our  obstacles  with  a shout  of  ‘ Banzai ! ’ 
and,  throwing  the  corpses  of  their  comrades  into  the 
ditch,  climbed  over  them  into  our  works.” 

Since  the  war  the  nation  has  not  permitted  her  arms 
to  rust  in  the  repose  of  a long  peace,  as  so  often  has 
happened  after  successful  wars.  On  the  contrary,  they 
have  gone  to  work  with  the  greatest  energy  to  improve 
and  increase  their  military  establishment.  The  entire 
armament  has  been  replaced,  we  are  told,  by  a better  rifle 
and  a more  powerful  artillery.  Additional  artillery  of 
heavy  caliber  has  now  become  a permanent  part  of  their 
army.  Their  weakness  in  cavalry  is  being  remedied. 

The  thirteen  divisions  existing  in  1904  were  increased 
to  seventeen  during  the  war  and  have  now  been  raised 
to  nineteen.  This  means  an  all-around  increase  of  a little 
less  than  one-third  since  the  war. 

These  great  changes  evidently  do  not  represent  all 
those  contemplated  in  the  far-reaching  plans  of  the 


364  CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


Japanese  Secretary  of  War.  On  the  contrary,  it  is  evi- 
dent that  the  lack  of  funds  has  continually  held  him  back 
and  that  he  has  been  forced  to  delay  many  of  his  prop- 
ositions for  improvement. 

The  peace  strength  of  a Japanese  division  probably 
fluctuates  according  to  the  plans  and  necessities  of 
various  kinds.  It  has  probably  been  as  low  as  6,000;  it 
has  been  over  12,000,  and  it  is  now  about  11,000. 

The  peace  strength  of  the  army,  including  numerous 
garrisons  of  outlying  possessions,  and  certain  cavalry 
and  artillery  and  other  troops  who  are  not  divisioned,  is 
probably  about  240,000  men. 

To  change  the  army  of  peace  to  its  status  for  war  it 
is  necessary  to  use  the  great  hosts  of  trained  reserves 
who  have  been  annually  discharged  from  active  service. 
They  are  brought  back  so  as  to  raise  the  strength  of  the 
peace  division  to  25,000  men  in  each.  Thus  the  army  all 
told  will  reach  about  535,000  when  on  a war  footing. 

The  time  necessary  to  make  this  transformation  from 
the  status  of  peace  to  that  of  war  is  the  most  closely 
guarded  secret  of  every  land.  The  greatest  energy  and 
care  is  exerted  to  reduce  it  because  thereby  they  multiply 
their  warlike  efficiency  by  each  fraction  of  a day  that 
is  saved.  Judging  by  past  history  and  what  we  know  of 
other  systems,  we  may  say  that  the  time  necessary  would 
be  anywhere  from  one  to  two  weeks. 

A slight  calculation  will  show  that  this  army  of  535,000 
does  not  exhaust  by  any  means  the  reserves  of  fully 
trained  soldiers.  Ever  since  the  two-year  service  law 
went  into  operation,  120,000  men  have  been  going  into 
the  reserves  each  year ; prior  to  that  the  annual  contingent 
was  about  80,000  for  several  years,  and  then  the  great 
army  of  more  than  a half  million  veterans  of  the  Man- 
churian campaign  is  still  available.  So  it  is  easy  to 
suppose  that  the  Japanese  have  now  at  least  800,000  fully 


EFFICIENCY  OF  THE  JAPANESE  ARMY  365 


trained  soldiers,  which  is  probably  double  the  number 
they  had  when  they  entered  the  war  with  Russia. 

In  time  of  war  these  trained  reserves,  who  are  not 
needed  in  the  active  army,  will  probably  be  formed  into 
nineteen  additional  divisions  according  to  the  German 
and  Japanese  system,  making  thirty-eight  divisions  in 
war. 

In  future  it  is  only  a matter  of  time  when  the  present 
system  will  afford  double  the  number  of  trained  soldiers 
that  it  now  will  give.  In  other  words,  there  will  be  more 
than  a million  and  a half  trained  men. 

If  this  host  of  fully  trained  men  is  not  sufficient,  an- 
other is  provided  from  those  able-bodied  men  who  were 
not  received  into  the  active  army.  The  number  of  men 
of  this  class  is  not  known,  and  probably  changes  from 
year  to  year  for  financial  and  political  reasons.  At  any 
rate  a supernumerary  reserve  is  formed  who  receive  a 
certain  amount  of  partial  training,  in  three  periods  dur- 
ing twenty  years,  aggregating  seven  months  in  all.  The 
manner  in  which  they  are  trained  is  to  attach  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  of  them  to  each  infantry  regiment,  for 
three  months,  replacing  them  by  a new  detail  as  soon  as 
their  period  of  drill  is  completed. 

It  is  not  unlikely  that  the  immense  number  of  trained 
men  which  are  now  provided,  will  be  considered  sufficient 
and  that  this  partially  trained  force  will  be  discontinued. 
Its  use  has  principally  been  to  fill  the  ranks  of  the  non- 
combatant  troops,  as  transports,  laborers,  etc.  During 
the  Manchurian  campaign  great  numbers  of  these  par- 
tially trained  men  went  to  the  front  because  the  reserves 
of  the  fully  trained  were  exhausted. 

This  reduction  in  the  term  of  service  from  three  to 
two  years  shows  the  growing  simplicity  of  what  used 
to  be  the  most  difficult  part  of  military  preparation.  The 
ancient  Greeks  and  Romans  spent  their  lives  in  military 


366  CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


drills  and  exercises.  The  soldiers  of  Frederick  the  Great 
learned  to  fire  a musket  in  two  hundred  motions.  To 
learn  to  parade  step  it  took  many  months.  Now  all  the 
frills  and  embroidery  are  thrown  away  and  only  practical 
methods  are  used.  I have  no  doubt  that  the  time  of 
service  will  be  still  further  reduced.  At  the  same  time 
the  art  of  war  has  become  more  difficult  than  before. 
Longer  preparation  and  more  intelligence  are  needed  in 
those  who  prepare,  direct  and  control  the  military 
energies  of  the  people. 

The  development  of  the  Japanese  navy,  like  the  army, 
seems  to  be  marked  by  ten-year  periods.  The  navy  made 
the  first  attempts  to  adopt  modern  ideas. 

The  first  warship  was  an  American-built  frigate  called 
the  Melacca.  The  first  ironclad  was  a Confederate 
privateer  named  Stonewall  Jackson,  built  in  France  and 
completed  just  before  the  close  of  our  Civil  War,  without 
having  a chance  to  go  to  sea. 

Up  to  1875  the  Japanese  had  collected  about  twenty- 
five  ships  of  all  sizes,  with  an  aggregate  tonnage  of  about 
16,000  tons.  Then  the  true  development  of  the  navy 
began,  under  the  guidance  of  British  naval  experts,  ten 
years  before  Marshal  Oyama  made  his  visit  to  Europe. 

In  the  next  ten  years  the  fleet  had  reached  100,000 
tons  and  one  hundred  guns  of  all  kinds.  The  war  with 
China  then  occurred,  and  the  first  great  battle  between 
ironclads  was  fought  near  the  mouth  of  the  Yalu  river. 
The  war  on  the  sea  was  won  by  the  Japanese  not  so 
much  by  the  power  of  their  fleet  as  by  the  skill  and  dis- 
cipline of  the  officers  and  men.  The  captured  Chinese 
ships  added  material  strength  to  the  na\7^,  and  the  war 
indemnity  of  two  hundred  million  dollars  gave  an  op- 
portunity for  an  extended  naval  and  military  program  to 
be  carried  out.  The  program  was  completed  ten  years 
later,  just  in  time  for  the  great  war  with  Russia  in  1904. 


EFFICIENCY  OF  THE  JAPANESE  ARMY  367 

In  that  war  the  navy  had  increased  many  times  in 
strength  over  that  of  1894. 

Japan  had  a powerful  fighting  fleet,  14  battleships  and 
armored  cruisers,  aggregating  154,000  tons,  with  55  great 
guns,  of  8 to  12  inches  diameter  of  the  bore. 

Although  the  Japanese  were  victorious,  it  was  evident 
that  they  fought  on  a very  narrow  margin  of  naval 
strength.  It  was  only  the  dispersion  of  the  Russian 
fleet  that  saved  the  Japanese  from  confronting  a danger- 
ous superiority.  As  it  happened,  however,  the  Russian 
fleet  was  completely  defeated.  Whatever  weakness  there 
may  have  been  in  the  Japanese  fleet  has  now  been 
remedied.  Since  the  war  the  navy  has  been  largely  in- 
creased. 

Five  captured  battleships  and  armored  cruisers  have 
been  renovated  and  added  to  the  fleet  with  an  aggregate 
tonnage  of  60,000  tons  and  18  big  guns.  Four  battle- 
ships have  been  added  with  about  70,000  tons  and  44 
big  guns,  and  also  4 armored  cruisers  with  57,000  tons 
and  16  big  guns.  During  the  war  they  lost  2 ships  with 
30,000  tons  and  8 heavy  guns.  At  this  day,  instead  of 
less  than  160,000  tons  of  battleships  and  cruisers,  they 
probably  have  more  than  300,000  tons,  and  the  number 
of  large  caliber  guns  has  increased  from  55  to  125.  Two 
of  the  new  battleships  are  of  the  Dreadnought  class,  but 
larger  and  more  powerful.  They  were  laid  down  and 
completed  entirely  in  Japan. 

The  income  of  Japan  has  been  raised  to  double  what 
it  was  before  the  war  with  Russia  by  governmental 
monopolies  and  war  taxes  which  are  a heavy  burden  on 
the  people.  No  doubt  the  increased  opportunities  for 
national  activity  in  business  will  bring  reward  in  time, 
but  at  present  the  financial  question  seems  to  be  a serious 
one. 

The  great  development  of  the  army  and  navy  carries 


368 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


with  it  a large  portion  of  the  receipts  of  the  Government. 
For  this  year  1909-10  it  amounts  to  more  than  eighty 
million  dollars,  which  is  about  three-tenths  of  the  total 
income  of  the  country. 

The  statements  in  this  paper  are  all  taken  from  pub- 
lished books  and  documents  which  are  accessible  to  all. 
In  the  limited  time  given  to  a lecture,  it  is  not  possible 
to  deal  except  in  a general  way  with  such  great  ques- 
tions as  the  military  situation  in  a great  nation.  For 
those  who  desire  to  investigate  the  subject  at  more  length 
the  following  list  of  references  is  recommended : 

The  Imperial  Japanese  Navy,  Fred  T.  Jane,  1904. 

America  and  the  Far  Eastern  Question,  T.  F.  Millard,  1909. 

Japan  in  the  Beginning  of  the  Twentieth  Century,  by  the  De- 
partment of  Agriculture  and  Commerce,  Japan,  1904. 

Imperial  Outposts,  Col.  A.  M.  Murray,  1907. 

The  Reshaping  of  the  Far  East,  B.  L.  Putnam  Weale,  1905. 

The  Coming  Struggle  in  Eastern  Asia,  B.  L.  Putnam,  Weale, 
1908. 

Japan  Year  Book,  1907-8-9. 

Kuropatkin’s  Memoirs,  1908. 

L’armee  Japonoise  en  1908,  par  le  Capitaine  Bluzet. 

Journal  Militaire  des  Armies,  Etrangeres,  1907-8-9. 

Diplomatic  and  Consular  Reports,  Japan,  1909. 


XX 


THE  AWAKENING  OF  KOREA 

While  Korea  was  never  actually  awakened  to  her  op- 
portunities as  a sovereign  power,  such  awakening  as  she 
did  experience  followed  as  a natural  result  of  our  enter- 
ing into  treaty  relations  with  her,  and  thus  ushering  her 
from  her  hermit  isolation  into  the  lime-light  of  foreign 
intercourse.  These  relations,  be  it  said,  were  entered 
into  by  her  with  much  reluctance,  and  after  years  of 
persistence  upon  our  part,  and  even  then  only  upon  our 
expressed  promise  to  use  our  good  offices  in  her  behalf 
in  case  she  should  be  oppressed  by  a third  power: — a 
promise  which  she  found  to  be  but  a poor  reliance  when 
threatened  with  the  loss  of  her  integrity. 

In  citing  Korea’s  relations  with  China  and  Japan,  I 
will  have  to  make  out  a rather  strong  case  for  the  latter, 
showing  how  she  was  actually  forced  by  the  action  of 
China,  and  later  by  that  of  Russia,  to  assume  the  over- 
lordship of  Korea  as  a matter  of  self-protection.  This 
can  only  seem  all  the  stronger  because  of  my  well-known 
friendship  for  the  Koreans  and  sympathy  with  them  over 
the  loss  of  their  land. 

Were  there  time  to  cite  incidents,  it  would  be  possible 
to  make  out  a strong  case  for  Korea,  since  in  the  past 
the  conduct  of  Japan,  both  politically  and  commercially, 
has  encouraged  neither  trust  nor  neighborly  regard. 

Any  attempt  to  point  out  the  merits  of  the  case,  as 
viewed  from  the  Korean  standpoint,  would  now,  how- 
ever^ be  of  little  avail,  for  the  weakness  and  corruption 

369 


370 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


of  the  Peninsular  Government  offered  such  a tempting 
field  of  operations  to  intriguing  outside  powers,  that 
Japan  was  forced  to  take  decisive  action  or  see  a stronger 
power  entrenched  in  the  Peninsula  as  a menace  to  her 
own  existence. 

As  to  the  Koreans  themselves,  they  are  a docile,  long- 
suffering  and  industrious  people.  Their  country  com- 
prises nearly  one  hundred  thousand  square  miles  of 
rugged  mountains  and  fertile  valleys.  These  mountains 
contain  very  rich  mineral  deposits,  which  are  being  mined 
— chiefly  by  Americans.  The  northern  country  is  well 
wooded. 

The  people,  until  in  the  early  eighties,  had  little  foreign 
intercourse,  raising  and  manufacturing  almost  all  that 
they  needed.  Some  foreign  trade  sprang  up  with  the 
opening  of  the  country  by  foreign  treaties,  but  up  to  the 
recdnt  war  it  amounted  to  only  about  fifteen  millions 
(U.  S.  dollars)  per  annum.  Rice  was  the  chief  export, 
and  cotton  goods  and  such  products  as  American  kero- 
sene formed  the  chief  imports.  The  country  presented 
the  unique  spectacle  of  a foreign  land  where  American 
influence  was  mostly  felt  in  commercial  matters,  and 
where  Americans  led  in  large  financial  and  industrial 
enterprises,  such  as  railway  and  trolley  building,  elec- 
trical development,  mining,  commerce  and  such  better- 
ments as  water-works. 

The  people  are  of  Mongolian  stock.  They  have  a lan- 
guage of  their  own,  which  is  quite  distinct  from  that  of 
China  or  Japan,  while  in  common  with  each  of  these 
neighboring  people,  the  educated  classes  understand  the 
written  language  of  China. 

They  are  a kindly  people.  We  had  no  beggars  in 
Seoul  until  the  advent  of  the  foreign  guard,  whose  mis- 
placed gratuities  served  to  organize  quite  a band  of 
beggar  children.  Hospitality  was  universal  and  a serious 


THE  AWAKENING  OF  KOREA 


371 


drain  on  the  well-to-do.  They  are  polite  and  courteous, 
in  fact  from  ancient  times  they  have  been  known  in  Asia 
for  their  observance  of  etiquette  and  ceremony.  Not 
that  they  are  given  to  an  undue  observance  of  outward 
forms,  but  rather  that  they  have  a dignified  manner  of 
expressing  their  politeness  which  seems  more  real.  I 
have  seen  a man  get  up  and  apologize  to  a bicyclist  for 
being  in  his  way  and  getting  knocked  down. 

The  Koreans  are  simple,  trusting,  credulous;  rather 
inclined  to  look  down  on  all  not  favored  as  themselves, 
Korean  birth,  residence  and  intelligence  being  to  them 
the  greatest  consideration  in  this  life.  This  leads  them 
at  times  to  assume  an  air  of  superiority  that  may  be 
annoying  to  a foreigpier  whose  sense  of  humor  is 
deficient. 

In  commerce  they  have  had  no  chance,  owing  to  their 
form  of  government  or  of  governmental  interference. 

As  officials,  they  show  great  aptitude  in  getting  into 
and  remaining  in  office,  and  they  are  past  masters  in 
intrigue  and  a sort  of  diplomacy.  I have  known  several 
Korean  officials,  however,  who  would  compare  favor- 
ably with  the  greatest  Chinese  officials  I have  known, 
and  who  would  be  quite  capable  of  reaching  the  height 
attained  of  late  by  the  Japanese. 

General  Hasegawa  told  me  of  some  Korean  young 
men  who,  after  attending  military  school  in  Japan,  en- 
listed with  the  Japanese  for  the  war  with  Russia,  and 
were  appointed  lieutenants.  He  said  these  men  were 
equal  in  every  way  to  their  Japanese  fellow  officers,  and 
he  commended  them  most  highly  for  their  action  under 
fire  and  under  all  the  emergencies  of  the  army. 

The  half-breeds  that  I have  seen  as  a result  of  unions 
between  Japanese  men  and  Korean  women,  are  a very  fine 
class,  seeming  to  combine  the  best  qualities  of  the  two 
races.  Possibly  we  may  some  day  see  a new  race  evolved 


372 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


in  that  peninsula  that  will  take  a high  place  among  man* 
kind. 


Early  History 

The  early  records  indicate  commercial  intercourse  be- 
tween Korea  and  Arabia  and  Egypt.  The  first  recorded 
expedition  to  Japan  seems  to  have  taken  place  about  B.c. 
97.  In  202  A.D.  the  Japanese  Empress  Jingu  Kogo  in- 
vaded Korea  Vi^ith  a large  army  and  compelled  the 
Koreans  to  submit  to  Japanese  suzerainty  by  a compact 
that  seems  not  to  have  been  abrogated  until  the  date  of 
the  modern  treaty  with  Japan  in  1876.  Korea  lost  the 
Liaotung  Peninsula  to  China  in  1012.  She  is  said 
to  have  given  to  Europe  in  1100  the  magnetic  compass, 
later  used  by  Columbus  in  his  voyage  of  discovery.  In 
1218  Korea  was  invaded  by  the  Mongols  under  Genghis 
Khan,  and  in  1273  Kublai  Khan  attempted  to  invade 
Japan  from  Korea. 

In  1250  the  consort  of  the  Korean  ruler  was  a 
Chinese  maid,  to  whom  was  sent  from  Nanking  a 
beautiful  marble  pagoda,  wonderfully  carved  in  illustra- 
tion of  the  life  of  Buddha.  This  was  set  up  on  the 
present  site  of  Seoul  and  still  remains  in  position. 

In  1443  Japan  secured  a foothold  at  Fusan,  where 
she  has  remained  ever  since.  Yasuhiro,  the  Daimio  of 
Tsushima,  was  sent  to  Korea  in  1585,  but  failing  in  his 
mission  he  was  killed  on  his  return ; then  followed  the 
great  and  memorable  invasion  of  Korea  by  Hideyoshi, 
(1591-8),  which  devastated  the  whole  land,  destroying 
the  cities  and  crippling  industries  in  such  a manner  that 
they  have  never  recovered.  The  Chinese  allies  sent  to 
assist  Korea  were  also  defeated ; Seoul  was  destroyed 
and  Fusan  was  made  a fortified  Japanese  port. 

It  was  following  this  invasion  that  General  Nabeshima 
gathered  up  all  the  Korean  potters,  skilled  in  the  manu- 


THE  AWAKENING  OF  KOREA 


373 


facture  of  the  far-famed  Korean  pottery,  and  took  tliem 
to  his  home  on  the  island  of  Satsuma.  These  exiles 
taught  the  Japanese  the  art  of  pottery  manufacture,  and 
from  their  descendants  came  the  delightful  ware  for 
which  Japan  is  so  justly  famed  to-day.  In  fact  Japan 
owes  much  in  the  realms  of  art  and  letters  to  her  ancient 
teacher,  Korea. 

In  1619  Korea  joined  China  against  the  Manchus,  and 
while  both  were  defeated,  Korea  made  such  a plucky 
fight,  that  the  victorious  Manchus  contented  themselves 
with  imposing  various  formal  marks  of  suzerainty  upon 
the  Koreans,  and  excused  them  from  wearing  the  queue 
and  from  binding  the  feet  of  the  women,  as  the  Chinese 
were  compelled  to  do.  Because  of  their  exhaustion  in 
this  war  against  the  Manchus,  and  for  the  reason  that 
by  virtue  of  Korea’s  opposition  the  Manchus  could  not 
get  on  to  Japan,  the  Japanese  excused  the  Koreans  from 
further  tribute,  such  as  was  exacted  by  Hideyoshi. 

Europe’s  intercourse  with  Korea  began  in  1653,  when 
the  Dutch  ship  Sparwehr  was  wrecked  on  the  island  Quel- 
part.  Thirty-six  of  her  crew  of  sixty-four  men  were 
saved  and  succored,  but  not  allowed  to  depart,  except 
that  eight  of  them  finally  made  good  their  escape  to 
Japan.  Those  who  remained  taught  the  Koreans  much, 
including  the  manufacture  of  gunpowder  and  weapons. 
The  eighteenth  century  was  one  of  little  molestation  from 
the  outside,  except  that  several  Catholic  priests  came 
into  the  country  and  on  being  apprehended  were  killed. 
Japanese  experience  with  Christianity  had  impressed  the 
Koreans  with  the  idea  that  they  should  not  admit  it. 
Many  Edicts  were  therefore  issued  against  Christianity 
during  this  century. 

In  1812  Captain  Basil  Hall  with  two  British  ships 
visited  and  surveyed  the  west  coast  of  Korea. 

French  priests  began  to  arrive  in  Korea  in  the  nine- 


374 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


teenth  century,  and  the  first  of  a number  of  massacres 
of  these  martyrs  took  place  in  1839.  As  a result  three 
French  vessels  arrived  in  1846  to  demand  satisfaction 
for  these  outrages,  but  they  were  wrecked,  and  their  guns 
were  later  used  against  the  next  French  expedition,  to- 
gether with  others  made  in  Korean  arsenals  from  these 
as  models. 

In  i860  there  was  much  excitement  in  Korea  over  the 
news  of  the  war  between  China  and  Great  Britain  and 
the  reported  flight  of  the  Chinese  Emperor  towards 
Korea;  also  by  the  Russo-Chinese  treaty  which  gave  to 
Korea  a new  neighbor  on  the  north ; there  was  much  ex- 
citement as  well  because  of  the  Perry  expedition  to 
Japan. 

Fearing  an  attempt  on  Korea  by  these  restless  outside 
barbarians,  the  Koreans  opened  arsenals  and  began  the 
manufacture  of  guns,  using  those  captured  from  the 
French  ships  as  patterns.  They  also  fortified  the  ap- 
proaches to  Seoul  by  erecting  the  forts  on  the  island  of 
Kangwha  in  the  Han  river,  which  forts  we  were  later  to 
silence.  T]he  attempt  of  the  barbarians  came,  and  we 
were  to  be  the  disgraceful  agents,  when  in  1866  an 
American  schooner,  the  General  Sherman,  reached  Ping- 
yang  on  a filibustering  expedition,  and  getting  hope- 
lessly stranded  off  the  city,  the  vessel  was  burned  and  all 
the  crew  were  killed. 

Then  came,  in  the  following  year,  the  grave-robbing 
expedition  of  the  German-American,  Ernest  Oppert,  who 
coveted  the  riches  supposed  to  be  buried  in  the  Korean 
royal  tombs,  because  of  the  custom  of  the  Koreans  of 
• burying  specimens  of  the  choice  ancient  pottery  with 
their  royal  dead,  and  as  the  potters  were  extinct,  this 
ware  was  so  valuable  in  Japan  as  to  sell  for  its  weight 
in  gold.  Naturally  the  report  got  abroad  that  Korean 
royalty  were  buried  in  gold  coffins. 


THE  AWAKENING  OF  KOREA 


375 


In  1866  a French  expedition  consisting  of  seven  ships 
and  one  thousand  men  attacked  the  Kangwha  forts  in 
an  attempt  to  obtain  redress  for  the  massacre  of  so  many 
French  missionaries.  They  were  ignominiously  driven 
off,  so  that  in  the  war  between  France  and  China  in 
1884  the  latter  was  indignant  at  being  attacked  by  a 
power  unable  to  make  an  impression  upon  so  small  a 
country  as  China’s  tributary  state,  Korea. 

The  destruction  of  the  General  Sherman  resulted  in 
our  sending  an  expedition  to  Korea  under  Admiral 
Rodgers  in  1871,  consisting  of  five  ships,  two  of  which 
the  writer  was  later  familiar  with,  the  old  Palos  and 
Monoeacy.  These  ships  when  proceeding  up  the  river 
to  get  into  communication  wdth  Seoul,  were  fired  upon 
by  the  Kangwha  forts.  A landing  was  therefore  made 
and  the  forts  were  captured  after  a stubborn  resistance 
that  resulted  in  the  slaughter  of  all  the  native  garrison. 
We  gained  nothing  by  this  slaughter,  and  as  we  left  at 
once  and  did  not  return,  since  our  Government  disap- 
proved of  the  punitive  character  the  expedition  had  taken 
upon  itself,  the  natives  naturally  considered  they  had  only 
been  less  successful  with  us  than  they  had  been  with  the 
French,  and  therefore  felt  quite  elated  at  having  driven 
off  the  Western  barbarians,  while  Japan  had  been  forced 
to  open  her  land,  and  China  had  been  humbled  by  both 
England  and  Russia.  Her  own  prowess  served  to  make 
her  quite  haughty. 

As  a result  of  the  firing  upon  some  Japanese  naval 
surveyors  near  the  Kangwha  forts,  the  Japanese  dis- 
mantled these  forts,  which  we  had  already  taken  and 
supposedly  ruined,  but  which  had  been  partially  rebuilt. 
Japan  also  informed  China  of  her  intentions  in  regard 
to  Korea,  and  upon  the  advice  of  the  Chinese,  Korea 
made  the  treaty  of  1876  with  Japan  which,  though  the 
first  of  Korea’s  modern  treaties,  was  really  of  little  use 


37^)  CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


to  the  Japanese,  until  after  we  had  made  our  treaty  of 
1882,  and  brought  about  general  foreign  relations  with 
the  Korean  Government. 


Events  Leading  to  the  Russo-Japanese  War 

This  is  sufficient  on  the  earlier  history  of  Korea,  and 
I do  not  intend  to  recount  the  later  history,  but  will 
touch  rather  upon  some  of  the  chief  events  that  led  to 
the  recent  w'ar  and  to  the  final  loss  to  Korea  of  the 
measure  of  independence  she  had  enjoyed  through  so 
many  centuries. 

When  General  Kuroda  and  Count  Inouye  anchored  off 
Seoul  in  February,  1876,  it  was  with  the  purpose  of  either 
making  a treaty  or  beginning  war.  It  turned  out  to  be 
a peaceful  mission,  and  the  treaty  was  secured. 

Korea  was  then  for  the  first  time  recognized  as  an  in- 
dependent power.  China,  be  it  said,  had  been  brought 
to  a realizing  sense  of  the  responsibility  of  suzerainty, 
and  found  that  such  relations  were  apt  to  bring  on  ugly 
interrogations  from  the  restless  barbarian  powers,  for 
the  French  and  we  promptly  appealed  to  Peking  for  a 
settlement  of  the  outrages  upon  the  former’s  missionaries, 
and  for  the  destruction  of  our  schooner  and  her  crew. 
This  realization  on  the  part  of  China  was  the  reason 
for  the  consummation  of  the  treaty  with  Japan,  as  well 
as  for  those  which  followed  later,  as  China’s  opposition 
had  been  the  cause  of  the  failure  of  the  proposed  mis- 
sions to  Korea  on  the  part  of  would-be  treaty  negotiators 
from  abroad ; for  Korea  deferred  to  and  respected  her 
“ elder  brother,”  China,  as  much  as  she  ignored  and 
despised  Japan. 

That  Korea  was  taken  seriously  in  the  eighties,  is 
shown  by  the  fact  that  she  was  always  mentioned  in  a 
proposal  much  talked  of  in  private,  for  the  firm  union 


THE  AWAKENING  OF  KOREA 


377 


of  the  Asiatic  Powers,  while  several  Western  Powers 
made  persistent  attempts  to  enter  into  relations  with  her. 
At  last  through  the  intercession  of  Li  Hung  Chang,  we 
were  successful  in  negotiating  a treaty  in  1882  and 
others  followed  in  rapid  succession. 

In  spite  of  having  advised  this  course,  China  could  not 
bring  herself  to  loosen  entirely  her  hold  upon  her  long- 
time vassal,  and  compelled  the  King  of  Korea  to  send 
with  each  treaty  a letter  to  the  head  of  the  Government 
with  which  the  treaty  was  made,  admitting  his  vassal 
position.  It  fell  to  my  lot  to  have  something  to  do  in 
abolishing  this  claim,  since  in  1887-8  I went  to  Wash- 
ington with  a Korean  legation,  and  in  spite  of  the 
most  persistent  demands  of  China,  made  in  an  attempt  to 
enforce  these  claims  of  vassallage,  we  were  finally  ac- 
cepted as  representatives  from  an  independent  power. 
The  story  of  this  mission  to  establish  Korean  independ- 
ence will  be  briefly  referred  to  later,  but  it  is  written  up 
somewhat  at  length  in  a book  of  mine  recently  published 
entitled,  “ Things  Korean.” 

A Japanese  legation  was  first  established  in  Seoul  in 
1877,  and  consulates  were  located  in  the  ports  of  Fusan, 
Chemulpo  and  Gensan,  in  accordance  with  later  trade 
regulations.  In  1882  the  Japanese  legation  was  destroyed 
and  seven  Japanese  were  killed.  Minister  Hanabusa 
made  his  escape  to  a British  vessel  engaged  near 
Chemulpo  in  making  a survey. 

The  settlement  of  this  difficulty  involved  the  payment 
of  an  indemnity  and  the  quartering  of  a force  of  three 
thousand  Chinese  troops  in  Seoul  under  General  Yuan 
Shi  Kai,  who  was  recently  deposed  after  having  risen 
from  this  first  prominence  to  be  the  foremost  man  in 
China,  next  to  the  Throne,  in  succession  to  Li  Hung 
Chang. 

A new  legation  was  built  by  the  Japanese,  only  to  be 


378  CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


destroyed  in  the  bloody  emeute  of  1884,  when  the  Chi- 
nese and  Koreans  killed  or  drove  out  the  Japanese.  This 
affair  resulted  in  an  agreement  between  China  and  Japan, 
whereby  the  former  was  obliged  to  remove  her  troops 
from  Korea,  and  each  power  covenanted  not  to  again 
land  troops  in  Korea,  without  first  notifying  the  other; 
implying  the  preliminary  consent  of  the  other  contract- 
ing power.  It  was  the  violation  of  this  agreement  by 
the  Chinese  in  1894  that  brought  on  the  Chino- Japanese 
War. 

Korea  first  appeared  in  the  West  when  in  1883  she 
sent  a mission  to  Washington  to  ratify  our  treaty.  To 
this  mission  was  attached  Mr.  Percival  Lowell,  the  pres- 
ent astronomer.  It  was  sent  back  to  Korea  on  board 
our  warship  Trenton  in  charge  of  Naval  Lieutenant 
George  C.  Foulk.  The  chief  of  this  embassy,  Min. 
Youg  Ik,  was  one  whose  assassination  was  attempted  in 
the  emeute  in  1884,  and  whose  life  I was  able  to  save  by 
surgical  means,  thus  getting  my  own  start  in  Korea. 

These  frequent  clashes  with  stronger  powers  show 
the  stolid  persistence  of  the  Koreans  in  attempting  to 
maintain  what  they  deemed  to  be  their  rights,  and  in- 
dicate the  reason  for  the  struggle  still  going  on  in  Korea, 
where  newspaper  accounts  note  continued  activity  of  the 
insurgent  bands,  in  spite  of  the  vigilance  and  severity  of 
the  Japanese  troops — this  after  the  lapse  of  four  years 
since  the  conclusion  of  the  Russian  war,  and  the  begin- 
ning of  Japanese  occupation. 

The  Koreans  may  be  suicidal  in  their  attempts,  and 
their  friends  may  wish  they  would  submit  to  the  inevi- 
table, yet  it  shows  that  they  are  not  the  miserable  time- 
servers some  superficial  observers  would  have  us  be- 
lieve them  to  be. 

During  the  decade  from  1884  to  1894  Chinese  influ- 
ence was  all  powerful  in  Korea.  Yuan  Shi  Kai,  already 


THE  AWAKENING  OF  KOREA 


379 


referred  to  as  the  recent  foremost  official  of  China,  un- 
til degraded  after  the  death  of  the  Emperor  and  Empress, 
was  Chinese  representative  at  Seoul,  and  as  such  he  con- 
sidered himself  his  sovereign’s  representative  in  a vassal 
state  and  attempted  to  lord  it  over  the  representatives 
from  other  powers. 

While  the  Koreans  chafed  under  this  claim  of  sov- 
ereignty, they  were  obliged  to  acquiesce  in  the  demands 
of  Yuan,  who  enforced  a veto  on  everything  in  the  way 
of  foreign  relations.  To  test  this  claim  it  was  decided  to 
send  legations  abroad,  and  a minister  and  suite  were 
named  to  represent  Korea  in  England  and  Europe,  and 
one,  before  mentioned,  was  delegated  for  America  alone. 
.At  that  time  the  British  were  in  close  relations  with 
China,  and  they  saw  to  it  that  the  European  embassy  got 
no  further  than  Hong  Kong,  where  it  remained  two 
years  and  then  returned  from  its  fruitless  errand. 

The  mission  to  the  United  States  fared  better,  for  the 
reason  that  we  were  willing  to  favor  this  move,  which 
also  had  the  approval  of  Japan.  As  stated  before,  I was 
appointed  to  accompany  them  and  to  attend  to  getting 
them  established  in  Washington,  and  our  naval  vessel, 
the  Omaha,  was  ordered  to  give  us  transport  to  Japan. 
The  Chinese,  acting  under  the  advice  of  Yuan  Shi  Kai, 
did  all  they  could  to  stop  us,  but  the  presence  of  a for- 
eigner as  a member  of  the  mission  proved  to  be  an  awk- 
ward complication,  and  we  got  started.  As  the  Omaha 
steamed  down  the  bay  it  was  met  by  a fleet  of  six  Chinese 
ships,  sent  to  overawe  Korea,  and  prevent  the  departure 
of  the  mission.  They  could  do  nothing  but  salute  the 
American  flag,  and  when  the  Korean  passengers  on  the 
Omaha  found  that  they  were  not  being  bombarded, 
but  that  Chinese  powder  was  actually  being  burned  in 
honor  of  the  flag  under  which  they  sailed,  they  were  im- 
mensely pleased. 


38o  china  and  the  FAR  EAST 


Arrived  in  Washington,  a firm  attempt  was  again  made 
to  prevent  the  consummation  of  our  plans,  but  this  mis- 
carried after  much  uneasiness  and  no  little  ingenuity,  and 
a due  exercise  of  what  is  well  termed  “ American  bluff.” 
The  matter  did  not  rest  even  here,  however,  and  on  the 
return  of  the  Korean  mission  to  Seoul,  Yuan’s  insistency 
was  great  enough  and  he  had  power  sufficient  to  compel 
the  King  to  banish  the  poor  old  minister.  It  was  merely 
a form,  however,  for  the  decree  was  but  for  three  days, 
and  the  old  gentleman  simply  went  to  his  country  place 
near  by  for  two  nights,  and  the  incident  was  closed.  The 
Chinaman  had  saved  his  face — that  end  so  necessary  in 
Chinese  transactions. 

No  one  fretted  more  under  existing  conditions,  and 
Chinese  arrogance  in  Korea,  than  did  the  Japanese,  whom 
Yuan  treated  with  such  contempt  that  he  actually  disre- 
garded his  country’s  agreements  with  Korea,  and  even 
seized  the  telegraph  rights  of  the  country,  though  these 
had  been  granted  to  Japan,  who  had  in  consequence  laid 
a cable  line  to  connect  their  country  with  Fusan. 

The  Japanese  saw  they  must  come  to  conclusions  with 
China  over  the  question  of  Korean  sovereignty,  and  dur- 
ing this  decade  (1884-94)  they  devoted  themselves  to 
quiet  preparation.  They  had  Chinese-speaking  Japanese 
disguised  as  natives  moving  about  in  all  parts  of  China 
and  sending  reports  and  charts  to  Tokyo  until  they  got  to 
know  the  country  and  the  conditions  better  than  did  the 
Chinese  themselves.  When  they  were  all  ready  to  try 
conclusions  and  only  awaited  a pretext,  an  excellent  one 
arose  in  the  serious  uprising  of  the  Koreans  against  their 
officials,  which  was  known  as  the  Tong  Hak  Rebellion 
of  1893  and  1894. 

The  Japanese  wisely  nursed  this  rebellion  and  induced 
the  chief  Korean  official  to  appeal  for  assistance  to  the 
great  elder  brother,  China.  Yuan  fell  into  the  trap  and 


THE  AWAKENING  OF  KOREA  381 


ordered  troops  to  Korea  without  bothering  to  go  through 
the  formality  of  notifying  Japan  in  accordance  with  the 
treaty  of  ten  years  previous,  of  the  very  existence  of 
which  he  may  have  quite  forgotten  in  his  great  idea  of 
his  own  importance. 

I chanced  to  be  dining  at  the  Chinese  legation  the 
night  that  Yuan  received  a telegram  announcing  the  de- 
parture of  the  first  consignment  of  troops ; which  troops 
were  cleverly  allowed  by  the  Japanese  to  land,  near  Che- 
mulpo, in  order  that  the  treaty  of  1885  might  be  actually 
broken.  The  receipt  of  this  telegram  seemed  to  cause  as 
much  elation  to  the  Japanese  legation  officials  present 
as  it  did  depression  to  the  Chinese,  who  seemed  to  get  a 
glimpse  of  grave  consequences  in  store,  so  that  we  hastily 
made  our  adieus. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  go  into  the  details  of  this  war 
w'hich  gave  the  world  its  first  shock  of  surprise,  because 
of  the  order  and  preparedness  displayed  by  Japan  in 
landing  troops  without  confusion,  and  at  once  occupying 
the  most  important  strategic  points.  A British  steamer 
carrying  a further  detachment  of  Chinese  troops  to 
Korea,  was  sunk  by  the  Japanese  on  July  25,  1894;  war 
was  not  actually  declared  until  August  ist. 

We  foreigners  were  much  surprised  by  the  facility 
and  celerity  of  the  movement  of  the  Japanese  troops, 
but  we  were  so  impressed  with  the  greatness  of  China 
and  her  vast  resources,  that  we  fancied  the  Chinese 
would  swarm  over  the  border  and  drive  the  Japanese  off 
the  peninsula  by  very  force  of  numbers.  As  a matter  of 
fact,  they  never  got  further  south  than  Ping-yang, 
where  the  undisciplined  mob,  following  ancient  methods 
with  their  jingals,  tridents  and  dragon  display,  were 
completely  routed  and  put  on  the  run.  That  ended  the 
war  on  land,  and  the  sea  fight  was  mere  play  for  the 
Japanese. 


382  CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


Brilliant  as  Japan  had  shown  herself  in  war,  she  was 
guilty  of  the  most  monumental  blundering  in  matters  of 
statesmanship.  The  lesson  learned  in  this  regard  after 
the  Chinese  war  induced  them  after  the  Russian  war  to 
send  to  Korea  Japan’s  greatest  statesman,  the  late 
Prince  Ito. 

But  in  1895  they  were  content  to  send  over  to  Korea 
little  men,  who  attempted  to  force  the  Koreans  to  do  in 
fourteen  weeks  what  had  taken  Japan  a half  century  to 
accomplish.  They  made  a strong  point  of  compelling 
the  natives  to  change  their  garb,  the  method  of  wearing 
their  hair,  and  by  such  petty  exactions  every  Korean 
was  made  to  hate  the  people  who  had  just  fought  a suc- 
cessful war  for  their  independence.  As  a result  of  these 
blunders,  and  the  fact  that  her  fears  of  the  great  powers 
had  induced  her  to  proclaim  this  to  be  a war  for  Korea’s 
independence,  Japan  got  nothing  in  Korea  as  a result 
of  this  war,  except  the  abolishment  of  the  Chinese  claims 
to  suzerainty.  A protectorate  might  as  well  have  been 
established  then  as  later,  had  Japan  been  sure  of  her 
standing  with  the  powers.  The  greatest  blunder  of  all, 
however,  was  the  assassination  of  the  Queen  of  Korea; 
an  act  which  the  Imperial  Japanese  Court  sitting  at 
Hiroshima  found  to  have  been  planned  and  executed  by 
the  then  Japanese  Minister  to  Korea,  but  for  which  no 
one  has  held  the  Japanese  Government  itself  to  blame, 
further  than  for  its  selection  of  such  an  old-fashioned 
conservative  for  so  important  a position  as  minister 
during  these  days  of  reconstruction. 

This  threw  Korea  into  the  hands  of  Russia,  the  King 
having  secretly  telegraphed  to  the  Czar  for  aid.  The  re- 
maining royal  family  escaped  from  Japanese  surveil- 
lance in  their  palace  and  took  refuge  in  the  Russian  le- 
gation, where  they  remained  for  a year  and  a half  and 
imbibed  many  Russian  ideas,  all  of  which  served  to  give 


THE  AWAKENING  OF  KOREA  383 

to  Russia  the  position  of  paramount  influence  in  Korean 
affairs. 

Japan  also  lost  the  position  she  had  acquired  as  a re- 
sult of  the  Chinese  war  in  the  Liaotung  peninsula,  by 
the  action  of  Russia  backed  by  France  and  Germany, 
and  having  by  her  blunders  in  statecraft  become  a negli- 
gible quantity  in  Korea,  she  had  only  her  indemnity  for 
her  trouble,  while  forced  to  see  Russia  occupying  and 
fortifying  Port  Arthur,  building  a commercial  port  at 
Dalny  and  extending  her  railroad  lines  through  Man- 
churia. This  Manchurian  line,  moreover,  was  guarded 
by  troops  to  such  an  extent,  that  w'hen  I made  the  journey 
to  St.  Petersburg  through  Manchuria  and  Siberia  in  1903, 
the  Manchurian  stations  resembled  fortified  camps, 
showing  that  this  railroad  had  other  than  a commercial 
significance. 

Japan  w-as  not  the  only  one  to  blunder  over  Korea,  for 
during  the  decade  from  1894  to  1904,  when  for  most  of 
that  time  Muscovite  influence  was  paramount  in  Korea, 
Russia  blundered  much  after  the  style  of  Japan.  In- 
stead of  leaving  as  representative  the  man  who  had  made 
this  great  success  possible  for  his  country,  she  sent  a 
succession  of  representatives,  each  less  well  adapted  than 
the  other  for  the  delicate  task  of  putting  the  Korean 
house  in  order,  so  that  it  should  not  invite  further  out- 
side attention.  Not  content  with  the  vast  operations  at 
Port  Arthur,  Dalny  and  in  Manchuria,  they  secured  a 
secret  agreement  covering  the  cession  of  the  magnificent 
port  at  Masampo  on  the  southern  end  of  the  Korean 
peninsula  and  almost  in  sight  of  Japan,  which  country 
it  would  menace  to  the  death,  when  properly  fortified 
and  occupied. 

Then  they  secured  a concession  for  the  timber  along 
the  northern  border  of  Korea,  and  by  virtue  of  having 
interested  the  Grand  Dukes  financially  in  this  enterprise, 


384  CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


the  so-called  timber  company  was  able  to  override  all 
other  interests  and  to  obtain  a military  guard,  and  in 
other  ways  to  give  the  matter  the  character  of  a terri- 
torial occupation.  All  this  in  Korea  in  addition  to  high- 
handedness in  Manchuria. 

While  these  events  were  taking  place  and  Russian  of- 
ficials in  Asia  seemed  to  consider  that  nothing  could  dis- 
turb their  tenure,  Japan  was  secretly  but  feverishly  pre- 
paring for  the  great  struggle  she  seemed  to  feel  was  in- 
evitable, and  which  came  on  as  suddenly  as  did  the  Chi- 
nese War  when  the  due  pretext  was  provided.  The  rest 
you  know,  how  Russia  refused  to  take  Japan  seriously, 
and  her  Minister  in  Seoul  was  dining  out  with  a gay 
party,  while  the  Japanese  troops  were  landing  at  Che- 
mulpo and  Japanese  ships  were  turning  back  that  min- 
ister’s dispatch  boat  on  its  way  to  Port  Arthur  to  carry 
messages  which  he  could  not  send  by  telegraph  owing  to 
the  fact  that  the  Japanese  had  taken  possession  of  the 
telegraph  lines.  How  the  next  day  the  Russian  ships  at 
Chemulpo  were  sunken  wrecks,  and  this  Minister  was  a 
prisoner  in  his  own  legation ; while  nearly  the  same  was 
being  enacted  at  Port  Arthur,  where  the  swiftness  of  the 
Japanese  blow  found  the  Russian  ships  quite  unprepared, 
and  their  officers  engaged  in  enjoying  themselves  at  a 
play  on  shore. 

As  in  the  case  of  the  Chinese  War,  the  Russians  got  no 
further  into  Korea  than  to  Ping-yang,  and  it  was  only 
scouts  who  got  in  sight  of  that  city.  Japan  made  a won- 
derful winter  march  through  Korea,  but  it  was  really 
unnecessary,  as  the  war  was  soon  removed  from  Korea 
to  be  fought  in  the  Liaotung  peninsula  and  Manchuria, 
using  Korea  simply  as  a base. 

Following  the  Chinese  War  in  1894  the  Japanese 
seemed  to  consider  that  Korea  was  their  own,  and  no 
agreements  were  necessary.  They  actually  surveyed  a 


THE  AWAKENING  OF  KOREA  385 


railway  line  from  Seoul  to  Chemulpo,  but  had  no  right  to 
it,  and  I secured  a concession  for  this  necessary  enter- 
prise for  an  American.  I may  add  that  in  arranging  this 
I had  to  secure  the  assent  of  the  Russians,  and  in  doing 
so  it  became  necessary  to  secure  the  reversal  to  a Russian 
of  a Korean  timber  concession  owned  by  the  American 
in  whose  name  the  railway  concession  was  obtained. 
This  timber  concession  grew,  until  it  became  the  one 
before  mentioned,  which  involved  the  Grand  Ducal  in- 
terests and  was  one  of  the  brands  which  started  the  great 
conflagration.  In  fact,  I felt,  after  reading  Kuropatkin’s 
memoirs,  somewhat  as  though  I had  been  guilty  of  fur- 
nishing a cause,  through  this  concession,  for  that  war. 

Following  the  Russian  War,  however,  the  Japanese 
made  no  such  mistakes.  They  took  agreements  for  every- 
thing, in  fact  going  too  far  in  this  matter,  for  in  their 
agreements  of  February  23,  1904,  they  made  such  prom- 
ises of  the  preservation  of  Korean  independence  and 
peace,  that  they  were  obliged  to  stultify  themselves  in 
later  acts  and  agreements.  Here  again  they  seemed  to 
fear  the  opposition  of  the  powers,  and  seemed  not  to 
realize  the  g^eat  successes  that  were  to  fall  to  their 
arms,  and  which  would  enable  them  to  ignore  or  pla- 
cate the  treaty  nations. 

I have  frequently  been  asked  how  the  Koreans  were 
faring  under  Japanese  rule.  This  is  a difficult  question 
to  answer;  the  Japanese  are  a friendly  nation,  and  one 
that  we  have  helped  to  a position  where  she  demands 
consideration  at  our  hands — the  consideration  due  a very 
sensitive  nature,  one  which  is  on  the  qui  vive  to  see  that 
nothing  due  her  by  virtue  of  her  newly  acquired  impor- 
tance is  withheld  from  her. 

On  the  contrary,  while  it  is  easy  to  laud  and  commend 
Japan,  no  credit  may  come  from  the  Koreans  to  any  one 
speaking  a good  word  for  their  country.  Nevertheless, 


386  CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


while  I appreciate  Japan,  my  sympathies  are  entirely  with 
Korea. 

When  one  has  dealings  with  such  men  as  Prince  Ito, 
Counts  Okuma  and  Inouye,  and  other  of  the  elder  states- 
men of  Japan,  all  is  dignified,  courteous  and  apparently 
fair,  but  financial  and  business  matters  must  pass 
through  other  channels  and  cannot  reach  these  high 
quarters,  except  on  appeal  through  a government. 

Japanese  officials  in  conversation  with  me  have  ex- 
pressed their  regret  that  their  people  should  assume  such 
an  overbearing  manner  with  the  Koreans.  Japanese 
immigrants  to  Korea  seem  to  think  that  as  they  repre- 
sent the  all-conquering  people  who  drove  the  enemy 
from  Korea,  the  natives  owe  them  profound  gratitude, 
which  should  be  shown  in  the  surrender  of  property  as 
well  as  in  the  observance  of  a most  obsequious  and  serv- 
ile manner. 

As  the  Korean  is  somewhat  stolid,  he  is  apt  to  be  slow 
in  doing  what  the  representatives  of  these  new  over- 
lords  demand,  and  one  of  the  commonest  sights  at  a 
Korean  landing  or  in  the  streets  is  to  see  big  natives 
kicked  and  beaten  by  little  Japanese.  The  strange  part 
of  it  is,  that  when  Americans  chance  to  see  this  it  rather 
heightens  their  admiration  for  the  little  Japanese,  and 
they  frequently  express  their  contempt  for  the  Korean 
who  will  tamely  submit  to  such  usages.  What  can  the 
poor  fellow  do?  Should  he  resist  he  will  be  beaten  by  a 
number  of  Japanese,  and  his  arrest  w'ould  probably  fol- 
low with  the  loss  of  his  property,  as  well  as  that  of  his 
family,  before  he  could  secure  his  release  from  prison. 
He  shows  great  command  of  himself  in  his  ability  to 
girt  his  teeth  and  bear  the  ill-treatment. 

As  to  this  imprisonment  and  loss  of  property,  I saw 
much  of  it  before  leaving  Korea  in  1905,  and  in  speaking 
of  it  with  my  friend,  D.  W.  Stevens,  for  whose  coming 


THE  AWAKENING  OF  KOREA  387 


to  Korea  I was  somewhat  responsible,  he  asked  me  for 
facts  regarding  the  matter,  and  I secured  him  full  de- 
tails regarding  two  prominent  cases,  which  I submitted  to 
him  with  affidavits. 

I know  he  did  his  part,  but  up  to  the  last  accounts 
there  had  been  no  redress,  the  reason  being  given  that 
until  the  establishment  of  courts  for  the  common  people 
these  matters  would  have  to  be  held  in  abeyance  and  much 
suffering  would  result. 

I have  no  doubt  that  things  will  be  better,  providing 
the  common  Korean  has  access  to  these  courts  when  es- 
tablished, and  if  the  Japanese  Government  can  sufficiently 
impress  upon  the  court  officials  the  necessity  for  impar- 
tial justice.  From  my  last  advices  I am  obliged  to  con- 
sider that  Japanese  nature  has  not  changed,  and  that  it 
is  just  as  hard  to-day  for  the  lesser  Japanese  official  to 
decide  against  one  of  his  own  people  in  favor  of  a for- 
eigner, especially  the  despised  Korean,  as  it  was  when  I 
had  a personal  knowledge  of  him. 

This  being  the  case,  you  can  readily  see  what  the  con- 
dition of  the  Koreans  is  to-day.  In  illustration  I will  cite 
one  case  that  occurred  before  I left  Korea  and  which  was 
rather  well  known  and  is  to  the  point.  A degenerate 
son  of  a country  family,  after  getting  into  gambling  dif- 
ficulties, sold  his  father’s  estate  to  one  of  his  Japanese 
acquaintances,  giving  him  a forged  deed  for  it.  The  pur- 
chaser went  to  take  possession,  and  the  old  man  indig- 
nantly denied  that  he  had  sold  or  had  any  intention  of 
selling  property  that  he  had  inherited  from  his  ancestors. 
The  old  fellow  was  therefore  strung  up  to  the  rafters  of 
his  house  and  beaten,  the  treatment  being  so  harsh  that 
he  died  soon  after.  I have  not  been  informed  that  the 
perpetrators  have  been  brought  to  justice.  Some  such 
cases  came  to  my  personal  and  official  knowledge,  one 
being  where  a Korean  under  similar  circumstances  had 


388  CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


sold  the  house  of  his  American  employer  to  a Japanese 
who  did  not  know  that  a foreigner  was  mixed  up  in  the 
case,  and  very  soon  dropped  it  when  he  ascertained  the 
facts. 

Now,  I am  fully  persuaded  that  the  Government  of 
Japan  would  wish  this  to  be  otherwise.  They  want  the 
Koreans  to  have  as  good  a chance  as  is  possible,  consist- 
ent with  the  due  development  of  the  Japanese  interests 
in  that  land.  We  have  every  reason  to  believe  that  the 
Japanse  Government  most  deeply  regretted  the  assassina- 
tion of  the  Queen  of  Korea  at  the  instigation  of  her 
diplomatic  Minister,  but  this  remorse  was  accentuated  by 
the  fact  that  this  untoward  act  threw  Korea  into  the  arms 
of  Russia.  At  present  there  seems  to  be  nothing  that 
may  accentuate  any  such  remorse,  and  as  it  is  only  a 
Korean  that  is  to  be  considered,  any  such  official  favorit- 
ism is  not  apt  to  be  questioned  very  closely. 

However,  the  Japanese  side  of  the  Korean  situation 
has  been  ably  set  forth  in  the  Annual  Report  for  1907  of 
the  Residency  General  on  Reforms  and  Progress  in 
Korea.  This  is  a very  readable  report  and  contains  a 
mass  of  interesting  and  valuable  information.  While 
written  in  the  interests  of  the  Japanese,  there  is  an  evi- 
dent desire  to  be  just  and  fair  and  to  create  a good  im- 
pression abroad,  for  which  obvious  purpose  the  report 
is  published  in  English. 

The  Japanese  certainly  deserve  and  command  respect 
for  their  ability.  They  know  well  how  to  dissemble ; they 
are  past  masters  in  diplomacy ; bringing  to  a quick,  keen 
modern  training  the  astute  methods  of  Asia;  engrafting 
upon  the  patient  persistence  of  the  unhurried  Orient  the 
immediate  decisive  methods  of  the  West. 

The  ruler  for  whom  they  showed  such  contempt  as 
to  deprive  him  of  his  throne,  is  spoken  of  in  the  third 
line  of  this  report  as  “ Gracious  Sovereign,”  and  his  of- 


THE  AWAKENING  OF  KOREA  389 


ficials  arc  mentioned  as  “ patriotic  statesmen.”  To  one 
who  knows  both  peoples  intimately,  and  the  relations 
that  have  existed  and  are  now  existing,  this  is  positively 
funny. 

To  one  not  posted  there  would  seem  to  be  nothing  un- 
fair in  the  report,  since  disagreeable  matters  are  either 
passed  over  in  silence,  or  glossed  over  with  such  terms 
as  coup  d'etat,  as  in  the  assassination  of  the  Queen, 
or  “ a foreign  interference.”  Take,  for  example,  the 
brutal  manner  in  which  the  various  protocols  and  agree- 
ments were  forced  upon  the  unwilling  natives — the  same 
being  now  used  by  the  holders  as  the  basis  for  the  vari- 
ous acts  of  the  “ Korean  Government,”  w'hereas  it  should 
read  “ Japanese  Government.” 

The  blunders  in  statecraft  following  their  brilliant 
war  with  China  are  dismissed  with  the  words  “ after  a 
brief  period  of  service,  the  Japanese  advisers  were  dis- 
missed, owing  to  political  intrigues  as  well  as  to  the  for- 
eign complications  of  1895  and  1896.”  This  foreign 
complication  was  the  active  interest  in  and  personal  daily 
visits  to  the  imprisoned  Korean  Court  by  the  British, 
Russian,  French  and  American  representatives  associated 
to  a certain  extent  with  the  German,  which  activity  re- 
sulted from  the  assassination  of  the  Queen  and  the  con- 
sequent trial  of  the  Japanese  minister,  ending  in  the 
flight  of  the  King  and  Crown  Prince  to  the  Russian  le- 
gation for  refuge  and  the  reversal  of  paramount  influ- 
ence in  Korea  to  Russia.  A more  satisfactory  statement 
follows,  as  a quotation  from  Prince  Ito’s  speech  of  July, 
1907,  when  he  says:  “The  identity  of  Korean  and  Japa- 
nese interests  in  the  Far  East  and  the  paramount  char- 
acter of  Japan’s  interests  in  Korea  will  not  permit  Japan 
to  leave  Korea  to  the  care  of  any  other  foreign  country ; 
she  must  assume  the  charge  herself.” 

This  rings  true  and  cannot  be  gainsaid.  No  one  can 


390 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


deny  that  Korea  was  in  a position  where  she  was  likely 
to  fall  into  the  hands  of  some  outside  power.  Japan 
owed  it  to  herself  in  very  self-protection  to  see  that  no 
one  but  herself  should  be  placed  in  this  position.  She 
won  magnificently  by  the  last  resort  of  nations,  and  no 
one  may  at  present  dispute  her  right  to  control  the  sub- 
sequent course  of  the  Peninsular  Government. 

The  trouble  seems  to  be  that  she  promised  too  much, 
and  was  therefore  obliged  to  resort  to  methods  about 
which  there  is  much  dispute  in  order  to  secure  the  right 
conferred  upon  her  by  the  verdict  of  war. 

’ As  it  was  possibly  unnecessary  to  announce  the  Chi- 
nese War  as  being  fought  to  secure  the  independence  of 
Korea,  so  it  would  seem  to  have  been  unnecessary  for 
them  to  promise  to  “ guarantee  the  independence  and 
territorial  integrity  of  the  Korean  Empire.”  This,  how- 
ever, was  on  February  23,  1904,  at  the  beginning  of  the 
war,  when  the  outcome  was  uncertain,  and  the  good  will 
of  the  powers  was  earnestly  desired.  With  later  brilliant 
military  success,  this  article  had  to  be  controverted  by 
subsequent  ones,  the  methods  of  obtaining  which  were 
open  to  serious  criticism,  but  which  quite  did  away  with 
the  idea  of  independence,  and  made  the  Japanese  the 
practical  rulers  in  Korea;  while  the  Treaty  Powers, 
though  still  having  their  treaties  in  existence,  held  them 
in  abeyance  by  their  acquiescence  in  this  overlordship. 

It  may  be  noted  in  passing  that  it  was  not  Great  Brit- 
ain, the  ally  of  Japan,  who  took  the  initiative  in  this 
acquiescence,  but  our  own  Government  that  had  pledged 
itself  by  treaty  to  come  to  the  assistance  of  Korea  if  she 
were  oppressed  by  a third  power.  I understood  at  the 
time  that  our  British  friends  were  not  well  pleased  with 
our  precipitateness  in  thus  surrendering  to  Japan  and 
forcing  the  hands  of  all  the  other  powers. 

As  the  result  of  the  convention  of  November  17,  1905. 


THE  AWAKENING  OF  KOREA 


391 


the  foreign  legations  were  withdrawn  from  Seoul  and 
upon  the  Japanese  resident  devolved  the  “ general  con- 
trol of  all  business  relating  to  foreigners  and  foreign 
consuls  in  Korea,  with  the  exception  of  such  as  pass 
through  the  foreign  representatives  resident  ” in  Japan ; 
“ the  discharge  of  all  functions  of  supervision  hitherto 
devolving  on  the  Imperial  authorities,”  the  control  of 
the  army,  and,  in  fact,  he,  the  resident,  becomes  the  Ko- 
rean Government. 

Much  land  was  necessary  for  military  purposes,  roads 
and  public  improvements  instituted  by  the  Japanese.  This 
was  taken  in  many  cases  in  a manner  giving  rise  to  much 
complaint  on  the  part  of  the  native  owners,  who  claimed 
repeatedly  that  they  had  not  been  compensated  at  all.  or 
if  so,  only  in  a meager  way.  This  may  have  been  due 
to  the  method  of  payment  through  native  sympathizers 
with  the  Japanese,  who  may  have  kept  the  major  portion 
of  the  money  for  themselves. 

I noticed,  that  after  the  war  with  China  in  1894,  the 
Japanese  authorities  made  the  mistake  of  placing  them- 
selves almost  at  the  mercy  of  a few  Koreans,  who  could 
speak  Japanese,  and  were  not  men  of  the  highest  char- 
acter. In  this  manner  many  of  the  mistakes  were  com- 
mitted and  much  injustice  was  done  to  the  natives.  I 
understand  that  much  the  same  condition  prevails  now 
in  Korea,  which  is  unfortunate.  The  Japanese  do  not 
acquire  Korean  readily,  and  comparatively  few  of  them 
can  converse  in  that  language ; naturally  they  are  at  the 
mercy  of  the  interpreters,  and  in  a land  of  such  constant 
neighborhood  feuds  it  is  to  be  expected  that  the  work  of 
the  informer  will  be  overdone  and  much  injustice  worked 
upon  innocent  natives,  who  may  be  at  enmity  with  one 
who  has  the  ear  of  the  present  ruling  class. 

Under  the  caption  “ Sanitation  ” in  this  very  readable 
report  for  1907  it  is  stated,  “ a hospital  and  a medical 


392 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


school  to  promote  vaccination  were  first  established  in 
1897  under  the  advice  of  the  Japanese.” 

In  pondering  over  this  statement  I wondered  if  it  might 
not  mean  that  such  an  institution  was  first  established 
by  Japanese  in  1897.  But  in  the  next  section  it  is  stated, 
“ until  recently  Korea  possessed  no  adequately  equipped 
hospital  on  a large  scale.”  This  is  an  unfortunate  claim, 
for  the  Severance  Hospital,  built  and  maintained  by  the 
Presbyterian  mission  in  Seoul,  is  a large  brick  building, 
fully  equipped  and  doing  an  extensive  work  for  natives 
and  Japanese.  It  had  from  the  start  two  male  foreign 
physicians  and  one  to  two  female  doctors,  besides  a 
staff  of  native  assistants  and  nurses.  A Japanese  doc- 
tor stated  to  me  of  this  institution,  that  he  knew  of  no 
better  equipped  one  for  its  size  in  Japan,  and  he  com- 
mented very  favorably  upon  its  size. 

The  report  states  that  the  new  Japanese  hospital  dur- 
ing 1907  gave  free  treatment  to  2,974  Koreans.  I my- 
self introduced  vaccination  and  quinine  into  Korea,  and 
in  the  year  1885,  twenty-two  years  earlier  than  this  re- 
port, I treated  over  11,000  natives  free  in  the  Korean 
Government  hospital,  which  was  the  forerunner  of  the 
Severance  hospital,  and  which  has  been  in  continual  op- 
eration in  Seoul  from  1885  to  the  present  day,  treating 
Koreans  from  all  over  the  country,  as  well  as  thousands 
of  Japanese. 

I simply  mention  this  as  showing  the  apparent  one- 
sided nature  of  this  very  readable  report  of  the  Japanese 
residency,  as  it  covers  matters  that  came  under  my  per- 
sonal knowledge. 

The  report  states  that  “ attention  was  never  seriously 
paid  to  the  matter  of  ‘ water  works,’  until  the  Japanese 
municipal  council  in  Seoul  held  a meeting  to  discuss 
this  subject  on  January  29,  1904,  and  decided  to  build  a 
reservoir  on  Nam  San  for  the  purpose  of  supplying  the 


THE  AWAKENING  OF  KOREA 


393 


Japanese  settlement  with  water  at  a cost  of  100,000  yen. 
The  measure  was  not  carried  out,  however,  owing  to  a 
protest  from  Messrs.  Colbran  and  Bostwick,  an  American 
firm,  which  claimed  the  exclusive  privilege  of  construct- 
ing water  works  in  Seoul.” 

Since  I made  this  protest  as  United  States  Minister  I 
know  something  about  the  matter.  The  facts  are  that 
from  the  time  when  as  Secretary  to  the  Korean  legation 
in  Washington  in  1888  I had  tried  to  interest  capitalists 
in  the  project  of  supplying  pure  water  to  the  residents  of 
Seoul,  the  necessity  for  which  I had  seen  when  acting 
in  a medical  capacity,  and  after  having  passed  through 
the  awful  cholera  epidemic  of  1886,  the  subject  was 
never  out  of  my  mind,  even  when  later  I was  attached  to 
the  American  legation.  As  a result,  in  February,  1898, 
the  firm  of  Colbran  & Bostwick  was  induced  to  take  up 
the  project,  which  they  have  since  carried  to  a brilliantly 
successful  termination.  We  disliked  to  interfere  with 
the  small  project  of  the  Japanese  municipal  council,  as 
the  need  for  a water  supply  for  that  community  was  most 
evident ; but  this  was  not  the  only  attempt  that  would 
have  resulted  in  leaving  the  American  concessionaires 
with  no  field,  or  a very  restricted  one,  for  their  product ; 
for  a British  syndicate  was  on  the  ground  and  striving 
hard  to  obtain  a counter  concession ; all  infringements 
had  therefore  to  be  resisted. 

Still  it  sounds  harsh  to  read  in  this  report  that  “ at- 
tention was  never  seriously  paid  to  the  matter,”  and  the 
fact  that  this,  the  first  pure  water  supply,  furnished  by 
Americans  and  equal  to  the  finest  to  be  found  anywhere, 
was  completed  and  in  operation  in  the  city  of  Seoul  when 
this  report  was  made,  might  at  least  have  been  men- 
tioned. 

Having  succeeded  so  brilliantly  in  their  war  with  Rus- 
sia, and  Korea  having  dropped  like  a ripe  apple  into  the 


394 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


Japanese  lap,  it  is  of  course  annoying  for  them  to  find 
Americans  heading  great  mining,  electrical  and  develop- 
ment works  in  that  land,  where  the  Japanese  naturally 
feel  that  all  such  enterprises  should  fall  to  them. 

But  we  were  the  pioneers  there  and  they  will  reap  the 
benefit  of  our  earlier  efforts  to  quite  an  extent ; why  not 
then  give  us  the  credit  for  this  awakening  of  Korea  even 
though  she  failed  to  better  herself  and  improve  her  op- 
portunities when  awake? 

I am  extremely  sorry  for  Korea  and  the  natives,  with 
whom  I spent  so  many  years,  and  for  whom  I entertain 
such  sincere  affection.  I would  not  like,  therefore,  to 
say  anything  that  might  seem  to  indicate  a desertion  of 
them  in  their  hour  of  bitter  trial.  At  the  same  time  jus- 
tice compels  me  to  admit  that  their  present  condition  is 
largely  the  result  of  the  unbridled  corruption  and  mis- 
rule of  their  own  officials,  and  some  nation  was  bound  to 
take  charge  of  them.  England  might  have  done  it  at 
one  time,  but  she  eliminated  herself,  and  it  became  a 
matter  between  Japan  and  Russia.  The  former  won  by 
her  brilliant  feats  of  arms;  but  greatest  of  all  was  Ja- 
pan’s good  sense  in  taking  the  psychological  moment  in 
which  to  stop  fighting,  and  to  sue  for  peace  on  almost 
any  terms. 

Korea’s  condition,  even  after  things  have  adjusted 
themselves,  will  continue  to  be  bad,  since  with  the  best 
intentions  the  Japanese  Government  will  not  be  able  to 
fully  control  her  undesirables  in  that  conquered  land. 
Yet  perhaps  on  the  whole  the  ordinary  native  will  not 
fare  much  worse  than  he  did  under  the  old  regime,  and 
many  will  fare  better,  while  others  may  attain  an  afflu- 
ence which  was  quite  impossible  under  the  former  native 
rule. 

Still  they  are  a stolidly  persistent  people,  with  a cen- 
turies old  hatred  for  the  Japanese,  and  this  hatred  will 


THE  AWAKENING  OF  KOREA 


395 


be  increased  by  constant  friction  with  overbearing  in- 
dividuals, as  well  as  by  acts — even  of  justice — on  the 
part  of  their  Japanese  overlords,  which  acts  will  seem 
to  the  prejudiced  or  uninformed  native  anything  but  just 
and  will  tend  to  keep  alive  the  old  flames,  so  that  when 
opportunity  offers  uprisings  will  recur,  and  if  Japan 
ever  becomes  embroiled  in  any  foreign  war,  Korea  may 
be  expected  to  take  advantage  of  that  occasion  to  do  her 
utmost  to  cripple  the  Japanese  regardless  of  what  may 
be  the  result  in  new  oppressions  or  new  overlordship. 

During  my  twenty-one  years’  residence  in  Korea,  I 
saw  three  great  decennial  overturns  in  that  land.  In  1884 
I saw  the  Chinese  drive  the  Japanese  ignominiously  from 
the  Peninsula,  causing  them  to  leave  their  dead  to  be  de- 
voured by  the  dogs  in  the  streets ; ten  years  later,  in 
1894,  I saw  the  tables  turned  and  the  vast  hordes  of  the 
Chinese  utterly  routed  and  put  to  flight  by  the  Japanese ; 
and  in  another  ten  years,  namely,  1904,  I saw  the  mighty 
Russian  colossus  overturned  by  this  nation  newly  risen 
to  power. 

The  international  adjustments  have  been  necessarily 
rearranged ; vast  sums  have  been  expended  and  still  are 
to  be  expended  in  military  preparations.  The  nerves  of 
the  nations  are  set  on  edge,  and  every  one  seems  to  be 
groping  and  uncertain  as  to  what  will  happen  next. 

The  humiliation  of  Russia  has  largely  destroyed  her 
vast  powers  in  maintaining  peace,  and  allowed  Germany 
to  take  such  an  aggressive  stand  as  to  have  become  the 
bugbear  of  Europe.  Commercial  lines  have  been  oblit- 
erated ; England,  who  depended  so  much  upon  the  Chi- 
nese trade  to  keep  her  mills  open  and  to  meet  her  increas- 
ing budget,  now  sees  the  new  power  she  helped  create 
wresting  this  trade  from  her  and  compelling  unheard-of 
taxes  at  home. 

Every  little  while  we  have  our  own  tremors  and 


396  CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 

begin  to  talk  battleship  construction  and  an  increased 
army. 

Korea  is  a very  little  country  to  have  caused  all  this 
commotion  among  the  governments,  but  the  excitement 
can  easily  be  traced  to  the  Chino-Japanese  War  of  1894, 
and  Japan’s  emergence  as  the  dominant  of  the  Oriental 
nations.  It  will  be  strange  if  that  Korean  Peninsula — 
the  battle  ground  of  the  past  twenty-five  centuries — does 
not  again  feel  the  martial  tread  of  neighboring  armies, 
and  find  herself  under  a new  lordship,  or,  more  prob- 
ably, serving  as  a buffer  state  between  her  great  neigh- 
bors. 


XXI 


THE  JAPANESE  ADMINISTRATION  IN  KOREA 

Among  the  present-day  problems  of  a political  char- 
acter there  are  few  more  difficult  than  those  encountered 
by  Japan  in  its  attempt  to  establish  a truly  successful 
protectorate  over  Korea.  What  has  been  called  the 
“ benevolent  assimilation  ” of  Oriental  peoples  by  West- 
ern nations,  but  which  is  seldom  to  any  considerable  ex- 
tent purely  benevolent  and  which  has  never  yet  resulted 
in  any  close  approach  to  perfect  assimilation,  is  no  easy 
task,  even  under  the  most  favorable  conditions.  And 
there  are  certain  reasons  why  in  this  particular  case  it  is 
especially  difficult,  by  whatever  nation  the  attempt  is 
made.  Some  of  the  more  important  causes  of  this 
difficulty  are  the  following:  The  long-continued  tra- 

ditional imbecility  and  corruption  of  the  Korean  Govern- 
ment, and  the  abject  poverty,  total  ignorance,  unsani- 
tary and  immoral  filthiness,  the  gross  superstition,  and 
generally  degraded  condition  of  the  great  body  of  the 
people.  The  low  estate  of  the  Korean  populace  for  the 
past  five  hundred  years  can  scarcely  be  exaggerated. 

The  difficulty  of  establishing  and  successfully  conducting 
a Japanese  administration  over  Korea  is  further  enhanced 
by  the  long-standing  enmity  between  the  two  peoples. 
I am  myself  of  the  opinion  that,  in  the  past  history  of 
their  relations,  Japan  has  treated  Korea  with  more  for- 
bearance than  would  have  been  exercised  under  similar 
circumstances  by  any  nation  of  Europe,  or  even  by  the 
United  States.  But  however  this  may  be,  it  cannot  be 
denied  that  the  attitude  of  the  Koreans  toward  the  Japa- 


398 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


nese  has  hitherto  been,  in  general,  one  of  unreasoning 
and  bitter  hatred ; and  of  the  Japanese  toward  the  Ko- 
reans one  of  scornful  pride  or  pitiful  scorn.  Such  feel- 
ings are  plainly  not  favorable  to  successful  administra- 
tion, much  less  to  “ benevolent  assimilation,”  of  one  of 
the  two  peoples  by  the  other. 

Again,  the  monarch  whom  the  Japanese  Government 
had  sworn  to  protect  and  whose  family  it  was  pledged  to 
continue  on  the  Imperial  throne,  was,  until  he  was  forced 
to  abdicate  by  his  own  ministry,  a practically  insuperable 
obstacle  to  the  reform  of  the  government  and  to  the  up- 
lift of  the  people  of  Korea. 

Another  source  of  difficulty  for  the  Japanese  adminis- 
tration in  Korea  came  from  those,  not  Koreans,  who  were 
interested  in  defeating  the  plans  of  the  Resident-General. 
Not  only  was  there  the  same  call  by  Japanese  for  a force- 
ful control  of  Korea  under  the  military  arm,  the  disap- 
pointment of  which  led  to  the  Satsuma  Rebellion,  but 
there  was  also  a considerable  party  who  were  active  and 
clamoring  for  the  privilege  of  “ exploiting  ” the  now  de- 
fenseless Koreans.  Moreover,  some  of  the  most  severe 
and  puzzling  embarrassments  which  Marquis  Ito  en- 
countered in  the  earlier  years  of  his  administration  came 
from  the  injudicious  or  selfish  attitude  and  action  of 
certain  foreign  residents  in  Seoul  or  visitors  there — 
traders,  promoters,  representatives  of  the  press,  diplo- 
mats, and  even,  in  some  cases,  teachers  of  morals  and  re- 
ligion. 

No  small  proportion  of  the  difficulty  accompanying  the 
Japanese  administration  in  Korea  has  also  been  due  to 
the  history,  the  characteristics,  and  the  conduct  of  the 
Japanese  themselves.  During  all  their  history  they  have 
had  no  experience  in  establishing  and  administering 
provincial  governments,  protectorates,  or  other  similar 
political  enterprises ; and,  consequently,  they  have  no 


JAPANESE  ADMINISTRATION  IN  KOREA  399 

large  body  of  skilled  and  trained  men  for  the  different 
branches  of  service  required  by  such  administration. 

To  be  sure,  the  work  of  Japan  in  Formosa,  under  Baron 
Goto,  has  been  so  successful  as  to  excite  well-merited  ad- 
miration ; and  the  same  thing  has  thus  far  been  even 
more  true  of  the  work  of  Prince  Ito  and  his  coworkers 
in  Korea.  But  how  much  of  this  is  chiefly  temporary  and 
due  to  the  extraordinary  fitness  of  the  individual  placed  in 
supreme  control?  Perhaps  only  time  and  much  more 
experience  can  answer  this  question.  That  the  Japanese 
failed  rather  conspicuously  when  they  had  their  chance 
after  the  Chino-Japanese  War,  can  scarcely  be  denied : 
nor  can  it  be  denied  that,  in  spite  of  the  enormous  diffi- 
culties of  the  situation  at  that  time,  the  conspicuousness 
of  their  failure  was  largely  due  to  their  want  of  experi- 
ence and  of  tact,  and  even  to  more  serious  moral  defi- 
ciencies. Under  the  severe  discipline  of  the  past  fifteen 
years,  and  with  the  broader  outlook  and  saner  vision 
which  this  discipline  has  done  something  important  to  se- 
cure, Japan  has  undoubtedly  learned  much  for  the  relief 
of  excessive  “ cock-sureness,”  and  for  the  abatement 
of  unwarrantable  pride. 

These  sources  of  the  difficulties  besetting  the  Japanese 
administration  in  Korea  combined  to  produce  what  the 
ResidentTGeneral  more  than  once  complained  of  to  me  as 
constituting  the  greatest,  the  most  insuperable  of  the  ob- 
stacles in  the  way  of  his  benevolent  plans  for  Korea. 
This  was  the  need  of  a competent  and  trained  and  trust- 
worthy personnel.  Among  all  the  Koreans,  there  was 
scarcely  a single  person  to  be  found  who  could  be  trusted 
with  a responsible  position  of  any  character.  Such  as  it 
seemed  most  reasonable  to  select  were  deterred  from 
accepting  office  under  the  Japanese,  by  the  fear  of  being 
denounced  as  traitors  or  even  made  the  objects  of 
assassination. 


400  CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 

Passing  by,  for  the  present,  all  minor  forms  of  diffi- 
culty, I think  it  fair  to  say  in  a preliminary  way,  that  the 
period  from  the  beginning  of  the  Russo-Japanese  War  to 
the  conclusion  of  the  Convention  of  November  17,  1905, 
and  its  going  into  operation,  does  not  properly  belong  to 
the  “Japanese  Administration  in  Korea.”  It  was  rather  a 
period  of  military  occupation.  By  the  protocol  of  Feb- 
ruary 23,  1904,  the  Imperial  Government  of  Japan  guar- 
anteed the  independence  and  territorial  integrity  of  the 
Korean  Empire:  on  the  other  hand,  the  Government  of 
Korea  placed  its  territory  under  the  control  of  Japan  for 
offensive  and  defensive  purposes,  as  against  Russia,  and 
agreed  to  adopt  the  advice  of  Japan  for  the  improve- 
ment of  its  own  administration.  As  is  customary  and 
almost  inevitable  under  such  circumstances,  not  a few 
wrong  deeds  were  committed,  and  some  outrages  perpe- 
trated during  these  twenty  months.  These  were  chiefly 
of  two  kinds — unjustifiable  appropriation  of  property,  and 
violence  toward  persons.  With  reference  to  the  former, 
I quote  the  words  of  the  late  Mr.  D.  W.  Stevens.  “ There 
can  be  no  question,”  says  Mr.  Stevens,  “ that  at  the  out- 
set the  military  authorities  in  Korea  did  intimate  an  in- 
tention of  taking  more  land  for  their  uses  than  seemed 
reasonable.  They  proceeded  upon  the  principle  that  the 
Korean  Government  had  bound  itself  to  grant  all  land 
necessary  for  military  and  railway  uses,  and  itself  to  in- 
demnify the  owners — an  assumption  which  was  technic- 
ally correct.  But  the  owners,  knowing  the  custom  of 
their  own  government  under  such  circumstances,  were 
hopeless  of  obtaining  anything  like  adequate  redress. 
This,  it  should  be  remembered,  happened  during  the  war, 
when  martial  law  was  in  the  ascendant.”  With  the  com- 
ing of  peace  and  the  establishment  of  civil  administra- 
tion under  Marquis  Ito,  other  counsels  prevailed.  Not 
only  was  the  intention  to  appropriate  other  large  tracts 


JAPANESE  ADMINISTRATION  IN  KOREA  401 

of  land  abandoned,  but  the  military  were  required  to  be 
satisfied  with  amounts  greatly  reduced  from  those  which 
had  been  originally  staked  off.  From  this  time  on,  in 
the  great  majority  of  cases  a fair  price,  and  in  some 
cases  a truly  extravagant  price,  was  paid  for  all  lands 
belonging  to  private  owners.  In  judging  of  the  com- 
plaints on  this  score,  it  must  always  be  remembered  that 
the  Koreans  are  traditionally  and  habitually  given  to 
issuing  false  or  forged  deeds,  and  to  claiming  and  con- 
ferring title  where  no  such  right  exists. 

Of  crimes  of  violence  during  this  period  of  military 
occupation  there  was  undoubtedly  a large  number ; but 
they  w'ere  rarely  due  to  the  action  of  the  military  or  civil 
officers  of  the  Japanese  Government.  The  extreme  diffi- 
culty of  suppressing  or  punishing  them  is  well  illustrated 
by  the  reply  of  one  of  these  officials  to  some  missionaries 
who,  justly  indignant,  complained  to  him  of  the  way  cer- 
tain of  their  converts  were  being  treated  by  the  Japanese. 
“ I know,”  said  this  official,  “ that  I have  more  than 
forty  of  the  worst  rascals  in  Japan  in  my  district;  but  I 
have  prison  accommodations  for  less  than  half  of  them. 
What  shall  I do  with  the  remainder?  I cannot  very  well 
take  them  into  my  own  family.”  Since  the  proper  Japa- 
nese administration  in  Korea  began,  the  Resident-Gen- 
eral has  made  every  effort  to  ferret  out,  suppress,  and 
punish  all  this  kind  of  behavior ; and  in  this  effort  he  has 
uniformly  been  inclined  to  deal  most  severely  with  of- 
fenders among  his  own  countrymen.  In  this  connection 
two  things  must  be  borne  in  mind,  of  which  His  Excel- 
lency more  than  once  reminded  me,  during  my  intimate 
relations  with  his  administration.  At  first,  the  foreign- 
ers in  general,  and  especially  the  missionaries,  would 
neither  themselves  examine  with  thoroughness  the  com- 
plaints of  the  native,  nor  would  they  give  him  the  op- 
portunity to  examine  them,  before  spreading  them  all 


402  CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 

abroad.  But  no  one  can  have  the  most  superficial  ac- 
quaintance with  the  Koreans  without  finding  out  that, 
with  few  exceptions,  they  are,  either  unintentionally  or 
deliberately,  given  to  falsehood,  and  quite  sure  to  exag- 
gerate wildly  even  when  they  have  an  intrinsically  good 
cause.  What  is  even  more  important,  but  has  been  uni- 
formly overlooked  or  forgotten  by  the  critics  of  the 
Japanese  administration  in  Korea,  the  Resident-General 
could  no  more  deprive  any  meanest  Japanese  subject  of 
life,  liberty,  or  property,  without  due  process  of  law, 
than  could  the  Governor  of  the  Philippines,  any  member 
of  this  assembly  who  might  happen  to  be  visiting  or 
resident  in  those  islands. 

About  one  other  matter  I think  there  will  be  universal 
agreement.  This  is  the  sincerity,  devotion,  and  self- 
sacrificing  benevolence  of  the  Resident-General  himself. 
As  one  who  had  the  opportunity  for  a most  intimate  in- 
sight into  his  mind  and  heart,  I do  not  hesitate  to  say 
that  his  attitude  toward  the  common  people  of  Korea, 
in  their  wretchedness  and  degradation,  was  as  truly 
Christian  in  spirit  as  that  of  any  of  my  missionary 
friends  who  were  resident  in  the  country. 

The  Japanese  administration  in  Korea,  properly  so- 
called,  should  be  divided  into  two  periods;  the  first  of 
these  extends  from  the  time  of  the  original  compact  on 
the  night  of  November  17,  1905,  to  the  new  agreement 
of  July  24,  1907 ; the  second  period  extends  from  the 
latter  date  down  to  the  present  time.  By  the  terms  of  the 
original  compact  the  Japanese  Government  in  Korea  was 
definitively  substituted  for  the  Korean  Government  in  all 
matters  affecting  the  relations  of  foreign  countries  and 
their  nationals  to  the  Peninsula.  The  meaning  of  this 
Avas  perfectly  clear.  Neither  China  nor  Russia  nor  any 
other  foreign  nation  could  in  the  future  operate  in  any 
way  in  Korea  to  the  injury  or  prejudice  of  the  safety  and 


JAPANESE  ADMINISTRATION  IN  KOREA  403 

superior  interests  of  Japan.  This  change  of  re- 
sponsibility was  promptly  accepted  without  dissent  or 
formal  protest  by  the  various  governments  of  the 
civilized  world.  But  the  protocol  of  February  23, 
1904,  still  remained  in  force ; and  this,  it  will  be  remem- 
bered, bound  the  “ Imperial  Government  of  Korea  to 
place  full  confidence  in  the  Imperial  Government  of  Ja- 
pan and  adopt  the  advice  of  the  latter  in  regard  to  im- 
provements of  administration.”  Moreover,  the  protocol 
signed  in  the  following  August  had  pledged  the  Korean 
Government  to  engage  “ a Japanese  subject  ” as  finan- 
cial adviser,  and  a foreigner,  to  be  recommended  by  the 
Japanese  Government,  as  councillor  on  all  foreign  af- 
fairs. It  will  readily  be  seen,  then,  that  the  Japanese  ad- 
ministration in  Korea  had  an  ever-present,  embarrassing 
problem  on  its  hands,  which  was  due  to  the  inevitable  in- 
termixture of  cases  and  interests,  where  its  rights  and 
duties  were  in  part  absolute  and  in  part  only  advisory. 

By  the  agreement  of  July,  1907,  however,  Japan  be- 
came more  completely  responsible  for  the  success  or  the 
failure  of  all  kinds  of  administration  in  Korea.  This 
agreement  established  a complete  protectorate  of  Ja- 
pan over  Korea.  It  made  the  Japanese  Resident-Gen- 
eral the  uncrowned  and  untitled,  but  virtual,  king — re- 
sponsible to  his  own  Home  Government,  which,  in  its 
turn,  is  pledged  to  use  every  effort  to  secure  the  integ- 
rity of  the  Korean  Empire  and  its  Imperial  house,  to 
carry  out  the  treaties  with  foreign  nations  affecting  Ko- 
rean interests,  and  to  do  its  best  for  the  economic,  judicial, 
educational,  and  social  improvement  of  the  Korean  peo- 
ple. Given  time  enough,  there  is  not  the  least  doubt  that 
the  world  will  hold  the  Japanese  chiefly  responsible  for 
the  result.  But,  how  long  is  “ time  enough  ” ? Let  us 
say:  Not  less  than  one  hundred  years. 

And  now  we  will  take  the  remainder  of  the  space  al- 


404 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


lotted  to  us  for  a brief  and  imperfect,  but,  I trust,  accu- 
rate statement  of  what  has  been  up  to  the  present  time  at- 
tempted, and  in  a fairly  resultful  way  accomplished  by 
the  Japanese  administration  in  Korea.  And  we  will  be- 
gin with  the  important  and  fundamental  subject  of 


Finance  and  Reforms  of  the  Currency 

It  is  impossible  to  exaggerate  the  deplorably  chaotic 
condition  of  the  Korean  finances  when  Mr.  Megata  be- 
came the  financial  adviser  of  the  Government.  There 
was  really  no  standard  for  the  currency,  and  only  cop- 
per cash  and  nickel  coins  were  in  circulation.  The  cash 
were  of  different  sizes  and  weights  and  fluctuated  in 
value  from  lOO  per  cent,  to  6o  per  cent,  premium.  Dur- 
ing the  war,  when  the  Japanese  army  bought  timber  to 
the  value  of  10,000  yen,  in  the  interior,  it  was  necessary 
to  charter  a small  steamer  and  fill  it  full  of  cash  in  order 
to  finance  the  transaction.  On  the  other  hand,  the  nickels 
were  so  extensively  counterfeited,  in  China,  Japan,  and 
especially  in  Korea,  that  they  lost  almost  all  intrinsic  and 
stable  value.  In  addition  to  this  coining  of  money  as  a 
private  enterprise,  the  Korean  Government  was  accus- 
tomed to  loan  its  coining  machine  to  so-called  “ promoters 
of  the  minting  industry,”  for  a money  consideration. 
Under  such  circumstances  the  establishment  of  a sound 
and  legitimate  currency  was  inevitably  accompanied  by 
much  complaining  and  by  some  real  hardship.  History, 
however,  will  have  few  more  illustrious  examples  of  the 
honest  and  skillful  solution  of  a most  perplexing  finan- 
cial problem  than  will  be  ultimately  credited  to  Mr. 
Megata.  The  old  nickel  coins  and  the  copper  cash  have 
been  withdrawn  from  circulation  to  the  extent,  up  to 
January  i,  1908,  of  298,870,000  in  number  of  the  former, 


JAPANESE  ADMINISTRATION  IN  KOREA  405 


and  of  the  latter,  to  the  value  of  1,386,312  yen.  At  the 
same  date,  the  circulation  of  the  new  Korean  coins  had 
reached  the  sum  of  4,100,175  yen. 

Until  recently,  the  Koreans  had  little  or  no  conception 
of  the  business  of  banking'.  At  the  time  of  the  inaugura- 
tion of  the  currency  reforms,  in  1905,  various  monetary 
systems  were  started,  and  by  January,  1908,  Korea  had 
one  central  bank,  three  ordinary  banks  with  two  agencies, 
nine  agricultural  and  industrial  banks,  with  seventeen 
branches  and  agencies,  seven  note  associations,  twenty- 
one  local  associations  for  money  circulation,  and  eight 
warehouses  with  various  branches  and  agencies.  In  1905 
the  Dai  Ichi  Ginko  was  made  the  Central  Bank  of 
Korea  and  the  Government  Treasury.  Besides  its  prin- 
cipal branches  in  Seoul,  Fusan,  and  Chemulpo,  it  had  on 
July  of  this  year  (1908)  eleven  other  branches  in  less 
important  centers.  In  addition  to  these  banking  facili- 
ties, the  postoffice  treasury  agencies  did  business  to  the 
amount  of  7,394,712  yen  in  1907  as  against  77,088  yen 
in  1906. 

The  Dai  Ichi  Ginko  is,  however,  a purely  Japanese  in- 
stitution, and  therefore  under  certain  obvious  disad- 
vantages as  constituting  the  permanent  Government 
treasury  of  the  Japanese  administration  in  Korea.  One 
of  the  last  official  acts  of  Prince  Ito,  accordingly,  was  to 
bring  about  the  founding  of  a New  Central  Government 
Bank  of  Korea.  The  shareholders  in  this  bank  are  lim- 
ited to  the  Imperial  Governments  of  Japan  and  Korea  and 
their  subjects.  The  terms  of  its  founding  are,  as  to  their 
principal  features,  such  as  obtain  in  the  Bank  of  Japan ; 
and  Dr.  Ichihara,  who  had  his  education  in  economics 
and  finance  in  this  country,  is  its  governor. 

In  intimate  relations  to,  and  dependence  upon,  the 
matters  already  considered  stand 


4o6 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


Reforms  of  Taxation  and  the  Management  of  the  Public 
Revenue 

Before  the  Japanese  administration  in  Korea,  the 
method  of  collecting  the  taxes  was  highly  irregular, 
totally  confused,  without  any  uniform  supervision,  and 
as  a natural  result,  characterized  throughout  by  official 
corruption  and  extortion.  The  state  revenues  had  been 
collected  either  by  the  local  magistrates  or  by  commis- 
sioners, ordinary  or  special,  dispatched  by  the  Imperial 
household;  in  either  case,  the  primary  object  of  the  col- 
lector was  the  plunder  of  the  common  people.  By  the 
organic  regulations  promulgated  in  September,  1906,  tax 
assessors,  principal  and  subordinate,  were  established  in 
the  various  districts ; the  officials  engaged  in  the  duty  of 
collecting  the  taxes  were  required  to  wear  uniform;  and 
Japanese  financial  “ councillors  ” were  attached  to  the 
Korean  officials.  In  the  sequel  of  the  new  agreement  of 
July,  1907,  the  Japanese  councillors  were  appointed  to 
financial  posts,  as  Korean  officials,  their  function  be- 
coming that  of  actively  conducting  the  financial  admin- 
istration, hand  in  hand  with  the  native  officials.  In  June 
of  1908,  the  collection  of  such  miscellaneous  taxes  as 
had  hitherto  been  managed  by  the  household  depart- 
ment was  transferred  to  the  Department  of  Finance. 

The  policy  of  the  Resident-General  with  reference  to 
reforms  of  taxation  is  thus  definitely  stated  in  his  own 
words  in  his  report  for  the  year  1907 : “ As  to  amend- 
ments of  the  taxation  system,  the  Japanese  financial  ad- 
visers, at  the  suggestion  of  the  Resident-General,  con- 
fined their  reform  measures  to  preventing  evasions  of 
the  tax-paying  obligation,  and  to  insuring  justice  and 
equity  to  taxpayers  as  far  as  possible : they  enacted  new 
regulations  only  when  necessary  in  consequence  of  some 
lack  in  the  existing  tax-system,  and  they  avoided  intro- 


JAPANESE  ADMINISTRATION  IN  KOREA  407 

ducingf  any  radical  change  or  establishing  any  new  taxes, 
lest  these  might  irritate  the  people  and  bring  about  popu- 
lar agitation.” 

By  far  the  most  significant  item  in  this  feature  of  ad- 
ministration, both  for  the  Government  and  for  the  people, 
is  the  land-tax.  According  to  ancient  Korean  custom, 
this  tax  is  levied  on  the  basis  of  a unit,  the  so-called 
kyel,  which  is  divided  into  six  grades  depending  upon 
the  natural  fertility  of  the  soil,  the  facilities  of  irrigation, 
the  lay  of  the  land,  etc.  But  the  measuring  of  the  land 
is  exceedingly  rudimentary  and  lends  itself  to  both  ex- 
tortion and  fraud.  The  surveys  are  five  centuries  old. 
Accordingly,  the  Japanese  administration  is  having  new 
surveys  made,  and  new  adjustments  of  the  burdens  of 
taxation.  Of  course,  it  encounters  the  opposition  and 
complaints  which  belong  to  all  such  eflforts  at  the  reform 
of  taxation.  In  the  process  it  has  already  discovered 
about  1,000,000  “concealed  kyels,”  or  measures  of  land 
fraudulently  left  unregistered  by  the  local  magistrates. 

The  entire  land-tax  for  1908  is  stated  at  6,640,388  yen, 
or  a little  more  than  thirty  cents  in  our  money,  per  head 
of  the  population.  Next  to  the  land-tax  in  interest,  as 
bearing  on  the  whole  body  of  the  people,  is  the  house- 
tax.  According  to  the  last  reports  available,  this  was 
placed  at  80  sen,  2 rin,  per  household,  or  about  eight 
cents  of  our  money  per  head  of  the  entire  population. 
The  customs  receipts  of  Korea  did  not  come  under  the 
direct  control  of  the  Japanese  administration  until  after 
the  new  agreement  went  into  effect. 

In  reforming  the  Korean  finances  the  Japanese  ad- 
ministration has  not  failed  to  give  attention  to  matters  of 
economy  in  expenditure.  The  most  salutary  of  these 
economies  have  been  connected  with  the  reform  of  the 
Korean  Court.  From  the  horde  of  servants  and  officials, 
superfluous,  useless,  or  even  thievish,  which  surrounded 


4o8 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


the  ex-Emperor,  the  household  department,  up  to  June 
30,  1908,  had  dismissed  2,166  male  servants,  232  court 
ladies,  and  317  “detectives”;  six  months  following  this 
date  there  had  been  added  to  this  number  1,643  males, 
making  a total  of  4,358  persons  in  all.  Another  method 
adopted  for  conserving  and  increasing  the  future 
revenues  of  the  country  has  been  the  transfer  of 
much  property  from  the  control  of  the  Emperor  to  the 
control  of  the  state.  As  a result  of  a care- 
ful investigation,  75,123  cho  (one  cho  = about 
two  and  one-half  acres)  of  fields,  fifty-four  cho 
of  forests,  and  178  houses — all  this  property  totaling  an 
estimated  value  of  17,336,099  yen,  besides  thirty  palaces 
and  shrines  which  were  disused  and  had  fallen  into  decay, 
were  transferred  to  the  State. 

The  following  table  brings  the  data  regarding  the  lease 
of  the  State  lands  up  to  May  30,  1909 : 

Petitions  received:  Japanese,  56,587;  Korean,  49,832  (c/i5) 

Petitions  accepted:  Japanese,  1,629;  Korean,  4,194  {cho) 

Petitions  returned:  Japanese,  22,454;  Korean,  9,751  {cho) 

Leases  now  granted:  Japanese,  142;  Korean,  2,439  {chd) 

The  politically  significant  thing  about  these  figures  is 
the  much  larger  proportion  of  cases  in  which  the  Ko- 
reans, rather  than  the  Japanese,  have  had  their  petitions 
favorably  considered. 

The  Korean  Budget  for  1909,  as  published  in  the  Seoul 
Press  of  December  31,  1908,  stood  as  follows' 

Ordinary  revenues,  13,848,443 ; with  ordinary  expendi- 
tures of  15,982,434. 

Extraordinary  revenues,  7,586,280;  with  extraordinary 
expenditures  of  6,286,221. 

Total  revenues,  21,434,723;  total  epxenditures,  22,- 
268,655;  leaving  a deficit  of  833,932.  (The  figures  are 
all  in  yen.) 


JAPANESE  ADMINISTRATION  IN  KOREA  409 


The  most  important  part  to  us,  financially,  of  the  finan- 
cial administration  of  the  Japanese  in  Korea  is  its  pres- 
ent and  prospective  influence  upon 


The  Foreign  Trade  of  Korea 

There  is  a very  complete  summary  of  the  entire  sub- 
ject in  the  Seoul  Press  of  February  20,  1909.  In  1908, 
vessels  to  the  number  of  6,224,  with  a gross  tonnage  of 
2,507,117  tons,  entered  the  six  open  ports  of  Korea;  of 
these  vessels,  2,940,  or  nearly  one-half,  made  port  at 
Fusan. 

For  the  year  1908,  the  total  value  of  the  foreign  trade 
of  Korea  amounted  to  yen  63,687,114,  including  the  value 
of  goods,  gold,  silver  and  specie. 

In  viewing  the  value  of  the  foreign  trade  according 
to  countries,  (A)  Japan  takes  the  largest  amount  of  the 
export  trade  of  Korea  with  77%  of  the  total  value  for 
1908  {76%  in  the  previous  year).  Next  comes  China 
with  16%,  and  all  other  countries  do  not  exceed  7%  of 
the  whole. 

(B)  In  the  import  trade,  Japan  also  takes  the  first 
place  with  59%  of  the  total  value  of  the  imports,  and 
Great  Britain  comes  next  with  16%,  while  China  and 
the  United  States  proper  have  each  about  10%,  and  all 
other  countries  together  5%  of  the  whole. 

In  this  connection  it  is  pertinent  to  quote  the  follow- 
ing from  one  of  the  official  reports  of  the  Resident-Gen- 
eral. It  is  published  under  the  title:- 


Guarantee  of  Alien  Rights 

“ The  so-called  ‘ open  door  ’ 'policy  in  Korea  has  been 
from  the  beginning  maintained  by  the  Japanese  Govern- 
ment. In  both  the  treaties  of  alliance  between  England 


410 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


and  Japan,  concluded  on  January  30,  1902,  and  on  Au- 
gust 12,  1905,  respectively,  adherence  to  that  policy  was 
a fundamental  key-note  of  the  engagements.  In  the  lat- 
ter treaty  especially,  Japan  solemnly  and  explicitly  pledged 
herself  to  observe  ‘ the  principle  of  equal  opportunities 
for  the  commerce  and  industry  of  all  nations,’  while 
Great  Britain  recognized  the  right  of  Japan  to  take 
measures  for  ‘ the  guidance,  control,  and  protection  of 
Korea.’  ” The  Marquis  then  goes  on  to  quote  the  cir- 
cular note  addressed  to  the  Treaty  Powers,  only  five 
days  after  the  convention  of  November  17,  1905,  in 
which  the  Imperial  Government  of  Japan  declared  that 
“ in  assuming  charge  of  the  foreign  relations  of  Korea 
and  undertaking  the  duty  of  watching  over  the  execu- 
tion of  the  existing  treaties  of  that  country,  they  will 
see  that  those  treaties  are  maintained  and  respected ; 
and  they  also  engage  not  to  prejudice  in  any  way  the 
legitimate  commercial  and  industrial  interests  of  these 
powers  in  Korea.”  The  Marquis  then  adds : “ Since  the 
establishment  of  the  Residency-General  in  Seoul,  the  Res- 
ident-General has  faithfully  observed  this  principle  of 
his  Government,  and  exerted  his  power  and  influence 
along  the  line  of  the  ‘ open  door  policy.’  ” I believe 
that  this  declaration  understates  the  truth ; and  that,  in 
fact,  the  Japanese  administration  has  treated  the  doubtful 
and  even  illegitimate  claims  of  other  foreign  promoters 
more  leniently  than  the  similar  schemes  of  the  Japanese 
themselves. 

The  plans  of  the  Japanese  administration  for  the 
economic  reform  and  development  of  Korea  have  been 
greatly  interfered  with,  and  in  some  respects  thwarted, 
by  the  insurrection,  which  arose  in  the  summer  of 
1907,  and  which  can  be  said  to  have  been  only  recently 
nearly  or  quite  extinguished.  Whatever  may  be  thought 


JAPANESE  ADMINISTRATION  IN  KOREA  4” 

of  the  wisdom  and  tact  of  the  Government,  both  as 
respects  time  and  method,  in  disbanding  the  Korean  mob 
of  armed  men,  which  existed  under  the  name  of  “ the 
army,” — and  this  was  the  immediate  and  ostensible  cause 
of  the  original  outbreak — there  can  be  no  doubt  about 
the  shameful  fact  that  the  affair  had  been  for  a long  time 
fostered  by  the  injudicious  utterances  or  deliberate  in- 
trigues and  falsehoods  of  a few  foreigners  resident  in 
Korea — prominent  among  whom  were  certain  subjects 
of  the  two  nations  supposed  to  be  most  friendly  to  both 
parties  whose  interests  were  supreme  in  favor  of  peace. 
How  heavily  this  insurrection  cost  both  Japan  and  Korea, 
it  is  impossible  to  estimate  precisely.  The  military  ex- 
penditures of  Japan  in  Korea  for  the  year  1906-7 
amounted  to  3,572,544  yen;  and  for  1907-8  to  3,444,628 
yen.  From  the  beginning  of  the  insurrection  up  to 
August  31,  1908,  they  lost  in  killed  and  wounded,  423; 
and  of  the  8,126  disabled  by  sickness,  797  died.  For  the 
same  period  the  total  casualties  of  the  insurrectionists 
were  13,014.  For  the  second  period,  extending  from 
September  i,  1908,  to  February  28,  1909,  the  losses 
among  the  Japanese  soldiers  were  45  killed  and  157 
wounded;  and  those  of  the  insurrectionists  were  8,719 
killed  and  2,230  wounded.  These  figures,  however,  by 
no  means  tell  the  whole  of  the  sad  story..  Almost  from 
the  first  the  disbanded  Korean  soldiers  were  joined  by 
that  large  number  of  bandits  and  highway  robbers  which 
from  time  immemorial  have  flourished  in  Korea ; and  not 
only  so,  but  they  speedily  made  bandits  of  themselves. 
The  amount  of  suffering  and  loss  which  they  have  occa- 
sioned to  their  own  innocent  fellow  countrymen  is  diffi- 
cult to  estimate.  But  the  following  table  compiled  by 
the  Japanese  Chamber  of  Commerce  at  Mokpo  shows 
the  extent  of  damages  they  have  inflicted  on  Japanese 


412 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


and  Koreans  during  the  three  months  between  January 
and  March  this  year,  in  a single  district : 


Japanese.  Koreans. 


Cases  of  incendiarism  against. .. 
Number  of  houses  destroyed  due 

4 

2 

to  incendiarism  

8 

4 

Amount  of  money  taken  from. . 
Estimated  losses  caused  to  build- 

28  yen. 

1,294  yen. 

ings  of  

Estimated  losses  caused  to  prop- 

900  yen. 

1,760  yen. 

erties  of  

Miscellaneous  losses  

3,623  yC7t. 
killed. 

1,786  yen. 

247  yen. 
wounded. 

Number  of  Japanese 

4 

II 

Number  of  Koreans 

36 

16 

As  a most  serious  indirect  result  of  this  condition, 
many  Koreans  have  had  to  have  their  taxes  either  abated 
or  wholly  remitted ; and  the  Government  has  been  obliged 
to  spend  considerable  sums  for  the  relief  of  distress,  or 
to  keep  the  people,  where  their  homes  have  been  burned, 
their  crops  destroyed,  and  their  laborers  murdered,  from 
actual  starvation. 

The  financial  and  economical  side  of  the  Japanese  ad- 
ministration in  Korea  has  been  dwelt  upon  at  such  length 
because  it  is  really  the  most  difficult  of  all  the  problems, 
and  indeed  underlies  the  successful  solution  of  them  all. 

We  consider  now 


The  Public  Improvements,  Made  or  Projected 

Of  these,  one  of  the  most  important,  of  course,  is  the 
support  and  extension  of  the  railways.  These  are  now 
nationalized  under  the  system  of  government  control 
adopted  by  Japan,  and  are  being  improved  and  extended 
at  great  expense.  In  the  fiscal  year  of  1906  the  sum  for 


JAPANESE  ADMINISTRATION  IN  KOREA  413 

improvements  was  given  at  7,787,225  yen,  and  the  profit 
at  219,260  yen.  But  in  the  fiscal  year  of  1907,  while 
the  appropriation  for  improvement  rose  to  11,361,375 
yen,  the  profit  of  the  year  before  was  converted  into  a 
loss  of  76,988  yen.  In  February  of  1907  the  Imperial 
Diet  of  Japan  authorized  the  Railway  Bureau  of  the 
Residency-General  to  expend  during  the  coming  four 
years  the  sum  of  21,873,144  yen  upon  the  construction 
and  improvement  of  railways  in  Korea.  Whether  this 
expenditure  ever  becomes  a profitable  investment  for 
the  Government  of  Japan,  otherwise  than  as  facilitating 
its  control  and  development  of  Korea,  there  can  be  no 
doubt  of  the  immense  benefit  it  is  bringing  to  the  Korean 
people  themselves.  It  is  also  going  to  afford  to  the 
world  a practically  all-rail  route  between  Japan  and 
Europe.  The  latest  report  is  to  the  effect  that  the 
Korean  railways  are  to  be  made  a part  of  the  South  Man- 
churian system.  Great  improvement  in  the  through 
traffic  may  reasonably  be  expected  on  the  completion  of 
the  Antung-Mukden  railway ; and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that 
this,  together  with  internal  developments,  will  speedily 
justify  financially  the  expenditure  of  the  16,586,000  yen 
which  has  been  appropriated  to  the  Seoul  Wiju  line  for 
the  year  from  April  i,  1909.  The  Koreans  are  fond  of 
traveling;  and  the  railways  of  the  country  carried  in  all 
141,260  passengers  during  the  month  of  June  last. 

In  close  connection  with  the  railways  stands  the  de- 
velopment of  the  PUBLIC  HIGHWAYS.  Hitherto,  with  one 
solitary  and  not  at  all  creditable  exception,  there  have 
been  no  passable,  not  to  say  decent,  highways  of  great 
length  in  all  Korea.  Work  was  commenced  in  1906  for 
the  repair  and  improvement  of  the  highways ; but  up 
to  last  year  only  about  forty  miles  were  completed.  This 
year  some  seventy  miles  more  of  these  roads  will  be 
put  in  good  order.  The  main  roads  are  to  be  about  four 


414 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


ken  (i  ken=6  feet),  and  the  inferior  roads  two  ken  in 
width. 

As  an  expensive  enterprise,  which  is,  however,  abso- 
lutely demanded  for  the  development  of  the  foreign  trade 
of  Korea,  must  be  considered  the  improvement  of  the 
harbor  facilities  and  the  building  of  light-houses  at 
various  points  along  its  very  dangerous  coast.  At 
Fusan,  which  is  one  of  the  finest  natural  harbors  and  is 
destined  to  become  one  of  the  principal  ports  of  the  Far 
East,  extensive  works  are  planned  and  are  already  well 
advanced.  These  include  the  reclaiming  of  ground,  43,- 
399  square  metres  in  area ; the  building  of  a pier  900 
feet  in  length,  the  inner  side  of  which  will  form  an  iron 
quay  capable  of  accommodating  two  vessels,  drawing 
nearly  24  feet,  at  the  same  time;  and  the  building  of  a 
new  and  greatly  enlarged  custom  house.  By  the  end  of 
1903  there  were  five  small  light-houses  on  islands  in  the 
harbor  of  Chemulpo.  Under  the  Residency-General  the 
Bureau  of  Light-houses,  after  a careful  survey,  mapped 
out  the  Korean  waters  into  ten  navigation  lines,  and 
drew  up  plans  for  50  light-houses,  5 light-buoys,  5 
beacons,  54  buoys,  and  16  fog-signals,  for  which  i,- 
266,272  yen  were  to  be  expended  during  five  years  begin- 
ning with  1906.  By  December  31,  1907,  35  light-houses, 
5 light-buoys,  3 beacons,  50  buoys,  and  ii  fog-signals 
were  completed. 


The  Construction  of  Public  Buildings 

for  every  kind  of  public  use  has  afforded  another  diffi- 
cult problem  in  economy  for  the  Japanese  administra- 
tion in  Korea.  These  were  not  only  necessary  for  the 
decent  and  successful  administration  of  every  depart- 
ment of  Government,  but  even  more  necessary  for  the 
economic  and  educational  development  of  the  country. 


JAPANESE  ADMINISTRATION  IN  KOREA  415 


The  severe  winter  in  Korea  makes  unsuitable  for  public 
uses  buildings  made  of  wood.  In  order  to  get  at  a 
cheap  rate  a sufficient  supply  of  good  brick,  a station 
was  established  with  the  latest  model  of  brick-making 
machinery,  which  is  capable  of  turning  out  30,000  bricks 
a day.  As  a branch  of  this  enterprise,  a factory  for 
making  drain-pipes  and  tiles  has  also  been  established. 
In  this  connection  I will  notice  only  the  construction  of 
buildings  for  the  Printing  Bureau,  where  Korean  young 
men  and  girls  are  being  instructed  and  employed  in  the 
various  sections  of  the  book-binding,  paper-manufactur- 
ing, and  lithographic  works.  In  this  establishment,  at 
the  end  of  the  year,  1907,  there  were  at  work  256  Koreans 
under  75  Japanese  experts.  .According  to  the  Seoul 
Press,  date  of  May  23,  1909,  the  plans  of  the  Government 
for  continuing  this  important  branch  of  its  work  during 
the  coming  fiscal  year  include  the  expenditure  of  over 
2,800,000  yen. 

After  Korea  joined  the  postal  union  in  1901,  the  state 
lost  annually  from  140,000  yen  to  290,000  yen,  with  a 
very  poor  service  and  without  any  prospect  of  improve- 
ment. On  the  establishment  of  the  Residency-General  in 
Seoul,  the  charge  of  the  posts,  telegraphs  and  telephones 
in  Korea  was  transferred  to  the  Bureau  of  Communica- 
tions and  placed  under  the  control  of  the  Resident-Gen- 
eral. The  statistics  up  to  the  year  1908  show  that,  while 
the  expenditures  decreased  from  2,581,023,  during  the 
fiscal  year  beginning  April  i,  1905,  to  2,203,831  yen 
(estimated)  in  the  fiscal  year  of  1907-8,  the  earnings  of 
the  system  rose  from  769,650  yen  in  1905,  to  1,398,923 
yen  (estimated)  for  the  fiscal  year  of  1907-8.  In  his 
report  of  the  latter  year,  the  Resident-General  an- 
nounces the  prospect  that  the  postal,  telegraphic  and 
telephonic  services  in  Korea  will  some  day  in  the  not 
distant  future  become  self-supporting. 


4i6 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


All  these  provisionary  expenditures  of  the  Japanese 
administration  in  Korea  are,  of  course,  justified  only 
as  they  are  part  of  its  plans  for 


The  Development  of  the  Agricultural,  Industrial  and 
Other  Resources  of  Korea 

Among  such  plans,  those  for  the  improvement  of 
agriculture  are  pre-eminent ; for  Korea  is,  and  for  a 
long  time  must  remain,  a land  of  small  farmers.  To 
afford  the  common  people  an  opportunity  for  improving 
their  old-fashioned  and  defective  methods  of  agriculture, 
a model  farm  and  experiment  station  was  established 
at  Suwon,  about  twenty-five  miles  from  Seoul,  in  June, 
1906.  The  farm  is  most  beautifully  situated  and  com- 
prises 217  acres.  In  April,  1907,  there  were  attached  to 
it  seven  competent  Japanese  experts  and  twelve  Korean 
and  Japanese  assistants.  Here  experiments  are  made  in 
the  cultivation  of  rice,  barley,  sugar-beet,  tobacco,  cotton, 
and  other  staples ; seri-culture  is  undertaken ; and  the 
improvement  of  live  stock  is  attempted.  Since  this  date, 
a horticultural  farm  of  thirty  acres  has  been  established 
at  the  village  of  Tukto,  four  miles  to  the  east  of  Seoul. 
Both  these  farms  were  at  first  treated  with  suspicion  and 
contempt  by  the  classes  for  whose  benefit  they  were 
especially  designed — the  seeds  and  plants  that  were 
freely  distributed  being  thrown  away  by  the  recipients. 
But  when  the  farmers  saw  the  specimens  of  grains  and 
vegetables  and  trees  which  were  raised  on  these  farms, 
and  learned  of  the  immensely  increased  profit,  per  acre, 
of  such  agriculture  and  horticulture,  the  applications  for 
instruction  and  assistance  became  satisfactory.  It  is 
found  that  apple,  pear,  and  peach  trees  grow  three  times 
as  fast  in  Korea  as  in  Japan ; the  climate  is  well  suited 
for  grapes,  but  not  for  oranges.  This  spring  7,000 


JAPANESE  ADMINISTRATION  IN  KOREA  417 


young  trees  were  eagerly  sought  and  carried  off  by  the 
former  opponents  of  the  plan ; and  there  is  even  talk  of 
making  Korea  the  fruit-garden  of  the  Far  East. 

In  Korea  more  than  half  of  the  total  area  of  the  coun- 
try is  covered  by  mountain  ranges.  Owing  to  indis- 
criminate felling  of  trees,  without  public  supervision, 
which  has  gone  on  for  centuries,  most  of  the  mountain 
slopes,  with  the  exception  of  those  along  the  Yalu  and 
Tumen  rivers,  the  Chili-san  range,  and  the  island  of  Quel- 
part,  have  become  denuded  of  trees.  Thus  the  people 
are  unable  to  build  better  houses  than  mere  huts,  and 
they  even  suffer  greatly  from  lack  of  fire-wood.  Worst 
of  all  is  the  injury  to  agriculture,  of  which  this  process 
of  deforestation  is  now  the  chief  cause,  owing  to  dev- 
astating floods  in  the  rainy  season  and  lack  of  water 
for  irrigation  in  the  dry  season.  To  remedy  this  evil 
three  model  forests  were  established  in  1906;  17,880,000 
young  trees,  comprising  pine,  oak,  larch,  chestnut,  and 
cryptomeria,  were  imported  and  planted  at  a cost  of 
293,000  yen.  In  the  spring  of  1907  three  nursery  gar- 
dens were  established  and  the  seeds  of  a large  variety 
of  trees  were  sowed  in  them,  and  excellent  results  ob- 
tained. A school  of  forestry  was  attached  to  the 
agricultural  station  at  Suwon ; a bureau  of  forestry 
has  been  established ; forestry  offices  have  been  estab- 
lished in  four  places ; appropriation  for  further  investi- 
gation has  been  made ; and  laws  have  been  enacted  to 
protect  the  forests  in  the  future. 

It  is  now  known  that  the  coveted  wealth  of  timber 
along  the  Yalu  valley  was  the  secret  but  principal  reason 
which  led  the  Russian  Government  to  violate  its  pledge 
to  withdraw  its  troops  from  Manchuria,  and  which  thus 
precipitated  the  Russo-Japanese  War.  In  order  to  pre- 
vent this  wealth  from  further  foreign  exploitation,  the 
forestry  undertakings  along  the  Yalu  and  Tumen  rivers 


4i8 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


were  made  a joint  enterprise  of  the  Japanese  and  Korean 
Governments,  with  a capital  of  1,200,000  yen,  each  party 
contributing  one-half.  It  was  expected,  of  course,  that 
the  earliest  developments  would  be  accompanied  by  a 
loss;  but  so  unexpectedly  successful  was  this  enterprise 
that,  for  the  fiscal  year  1908,  instead  of  an  expected  loss 
of  11,670  yen  there  was  an  estimated  profit  of  96,000  yen. 

The  climate  and  soil  in  the  southern  part  of  Korea 
seem  well  suited  to  the  growth  of  cotton,  and  in  order 
to  settle  the  feasibility  of  its  culture  by  the  best  modern 
methods  and  on  an  enlarged  scale,  an  association  of 
Koreans  and  Japanese  interested  in  this  industry  was 
formed  several  years  ago.  In  1906  this  association  was 
subsidized  to  the  extent  of  100,000  yen,  on  these  con- 
ditions : that  American  upland  cotton  be  introduced ; that 
the  seed  obtained  from  the  crop  be  distributed  among 
planters  at  large ; and  that  a ginning  mill  be  established. 
In  one  year  the  number  of  Korean  planters  increased 
from  348  to  850 ; but  it  is  probably  still  too  early  to 
predict  what  the  ultimate  result  will  be. 

The  Japanese  administration  in  Korea  has  also  been 
compelled  to  do  much  difficult  work,  in  its  efforts  to 
deal  with  the  mining  industry  in  the  peninsula.  It 
found  the  titles  to  this  sort  of  claims  almost  inextricably 
mixed  up,  the  greater  number  of  them  having  been  ob- 
tained either  by  bribery  or  some  other  form  of  illegiti- 
mate influence,  or  else  at  a price  much  below  their  proper 
value.  With  Korean  and  Japanese  promoters  of  this 
class,  the  dealing  of  the  Government  could  be  compara- 
tively simple,  direct,  and  effective;  but  with  those  from 
the  Treaty  Powers  of  Europe  and  America,  the  case 
was  not  the  same.  The  results  of  the  attempts  at  re- 
form were  likely  to  be  more  embarrassing  when  this 
class  of  promoters  tried  to  interest  their  home  govern- 
ments in  enforcing  or  urging  their  claims.  It  was  one 


JAPANESE  ADMINISTRATION  IN  KOREA  419 

of  the  chief  satisfactions  of  the  Resident-General,  at  the 
time  of  his  recent  resignation,  to  know  that  all  the 
affairs  connected  with  this  form  of  the  country’s  indus- 
tries seemed  fairly  on  the  way  to  a permanent  settle- 
ment. 

The  following  table  taken  from  the  Seoul  Press  of 
July  I,  1909,  gives  the  area,  in  tsubo,  covered  by  the 
different  kinds  of  mines  in  the  country  at  large  ( i 
tsubo==6  feet  square)  : 


Number. 

Area. 

Gold  mine  

S3 

31.908,141 

Silver  mine  

5 

924,340 

Copper  mine  

25 

10,869,763 

Iron  mine  

36 

11,797.238 

Lead  mine  

2 

1.557,821 

Graphite  mine  

34 

13,043,412 

Zinc  mine  

2 

1,574.490 

Coal  mine  

21 

13,368,094 

Petroleum  mine 

5 

4,394.694 

Mercury  mine  

67,120 

It  has  always  been  impossible  to  tell  how  much  gold 
has  been  actually  mined  and  exported,  so  persistent  and 
successful  are  the  devices  for  concealment.  But  the  gold 
purchased  last  year  by  the  different  branches  of  the  Dai 
Ichi  Ginko  amounted  to  964  kzi'an  (each 
pounds),  with  a value  of  approximately  5,000,000  yen. 

The  most  extensive  coal  mines  in  Korea  are  along  the 
valleys  of  the  Ta-dong  river  and  its  tributaries,  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Ping-yang. 

The  Ping-yang  coal  mines  were  taken  in  control  by 
the  Government  in  August,  1907,  and  by  December  of 
the  same  year  35  foremen  and  425  miners,  90  per  cent, 
of  whom  were  Koreans,  were  employed  in  developing 
the  works.  Last  year,  from  January  to  June,  17,292 
tons  with  a value  of  77,814  yen,  and  from  July  to 


420  CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 

December  29,195  tons  with  a value  of  131,377  yen — 
making  in  all  46,487  tons,  worth  209,191  yen — were 
mined  there. 

As  a means  of  attracting  foreign  capital  to  Korea, 
under  the  advice  of  the  Resident-General,  the  laws  regu- 
lating mining  concessions  and  claims  were  revised  in 
July  of  last  year.  Under  the  new  laws  then  enacted 
and  now  in  force,  the  transfer  of  mining  rights  and  the 
creation  of  their  hypothecation  do  not  require  the  sanc- 
tion of  the  Government.  The  former  provisions  by 
which  permits  could  be  canceled  or  mining  operations 
suspended  by  order  of  the  Government,  were  either  re- 
stricted or  struck  out  altogether.  In  the  following 
August  an  ordinance  was  issued  exempting  from  duty 
the  importation  of  machinery,  instruments,  and  other 
necessary  articles  used  for  mining  purposes.  The  ex- 
portation of  copper  and  copper  concentrate  was  already 
duty-free. 

Another  important  matter  for  securing  desirable 
economical  and  political  results  has  been  the  regulation 
of  the  FISHING  INDUSTRY.  No  more  infamous  scheme 
_for  robbery  of  the  people  was  encountered  by  the  Japa- 
nese administration  in  its  earlier  days  than  that  con- 
cocted by  the  joint  enterprise  of  Koreans  and  Japanese 
for  getting  control  of  the  entire  fishing  industry  over  all 
the  waters  and  fish-markets  of  Korea.  Laws  on  this 
subject  have  now  been  put  in  force  by  the  Japanese 
administration. 

In  addition  to  the  schemes  for  increasing  the  revenues 
and  developing  the  resources  of  Korea,  the  management 
of  which  is  kept  more  immediately  under  the  control  of 
the  Residency-General,  there  are  others  which  are  fos- 
tered by  it,  on  conditions  definitely  fi.xed  by  their 
charters.  Of  these  the  most  important  is  probably,  the 
so-called 


JAPANESE  ADMINISTRATION  IN  KOREA  421 


Oriental  Development  Company 

This  company  is  formed  with  the  avowed  purpose  of 
assisting  in  the  economic  development  of  Korea. 

It  announces  that  its  operations  shall  comprise  (i) 
agricultural;  (2)  sale,  purchase  and  renting  of  lantls  nec- 
essary for  purposes  of  development ; (3)  exploitation  and 
control  of  lands  necessary  for  purposes  of  development ; 
(4)  construction,  sale,  purchase  and  renting  of  build- 
ings necessary  for  purposes  of  development;  (5)  collec- 
tion and  distribution  of  Japanese  and  Korean  settlers 
necessary  for  purposes  of  development;  (6)  supplying 
to  settlers  and  farmers  in  Korea  of  articles  necessary 
for  purposes  of  development  and  distribution  of  articles 
produced  or  acquired  by  them;  (7)  and  supply  of  funds 
necessary  for  purposes  of  development.  In  addition,  as 
secondary  operations,  the  company  may  engage  in  fish- 
ing and  other  enterprises  necessary  for  the  development 
of  the  national  resources.  It  is  to  be  under  the  strict 
control  of  the  Korean  Government. 

In  this  connection  I wish  distinctly  to  deny  the  charge 
which  has  been  so  persistently  reported  by  interested 
parties,  that  the  Government  is  bent  upon  a course  un- 
favorable to  the  coming  to  the  country  of  foreign  capital 
for  investment  there.  On  this  point  I will  quote  the 
testimony  of  our  countrj-man,  Mr.  W.  D.  Townsend, 
who  went  to  Chemulpo  to  open  a branch  of  The  Amer- 
ican Trading  Company  in  1884  and  has  been  there 
ever  since.  Mr.  Townsend  assured  me  that  the  honor- 
able business  firms  were  pleased  with  the  Japanese  pro- 
tectorate; although  unscrupulous  promoters  did  not,  as 
a matter  of  course,  enjoy  having  their  schemes  for 
plundering  the  Korean  resources  interfered  with  by  the 
Japanese  administration. 

Most  difficult  and  yet  important  of  all  the  tasks  before 


422 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


the  Japanese  administration  in  Korea  has  been,  and  I 
suppose  for  a long  time  will  continue  to  be : 


The  Establishment  and  Enforcement  of  a Legal  Code 
and  the  Reform  of  the  Public  Justice 

This  colossal  task  involves  three  important  particulars : 
(i)  The  separation  of  the  judiciary  from  the  executive 
branch  of  the  Government;  (2)  the  codification  and  pre- 
cise definition  of  the  existing  customs  and  regulations, 
so  far  as  this  is  possible,  and  the  enactment  of  the  new 
statutes  which  have  become  necessary  under  the  changed 
circumstances;  and  (3)  the  establishment  of  law  courts 
and  the  reform  of  judicial  procedure — especially  among 
the  local  magistrates. 

In  Oriental  countries  generally,  the  judiciary  is  not 
separate  from  the  executive ; and,  formerly,  this  was 
especially  true  in  Korea,  where  provincial  governors  and 
local  magistrates  regularly  discharged  judicial  functions 
in  their  executive  capacity.  Early  in  his  administration 
Marquis  Ito  became  convinced  that  “ so  long  as  the  judi- 
ciary branch  of  the  Government  was  not  separated  from 
the  executive,  the  evils  and  abuses  of  the  old  system, 
which  are  so  deeply  rooted,  could  not  be  fully  removed.” 
Accordingly  at  the  time  of  the  new  agreement  he  se- 
cured the  pledge  of  the  Korean  Government  to  bring 
about  this  separation.  A beginning  was  made  under  the 
regulations  enacted  on  December  27,  1907.  These  es- 
tablished a court  of  cassation  in  Seoul ; three  courts 
of  appeals ; eight  local  courts ; and  one  hundred  and 
fifteen  district  courts.  In  this  way  Korea  adopted  the 
so-called  “ three-trial  system,”  which  is  that  in  practice 
in  Japan  as  well  as  in  Continental  Europe.  Recent 
measures,  which  will  be  referred  to  further  on,  have  now 
more  completely  achieved  this  eminently  desirable  result. 


JAPANESE  ADMINISTRATION  IN  KOREA  423 

The  codification  of  a legal  system  for  modern  Korea 
would  seem  to  be  acconi()anicd  by  almost  insuperable 
difficulties.  In  Korea  civil  law  guaranteeing  private 
rights  had  hitherto  practically  no  existence.  To  these 
rights  the  maladministration  of  the  officials  paid  scanty 
or  no  attention;  and  the  people  dared  not  complain 
against  official  extortion.  Bribery  was  everywhere  prev- 
alent; and  especially  in  the  palace  compound  itself. 
Although  a code  of  criminal  law  was  enacted  as  late  as 
April,  1905.  the  death  penalty  was  not  confined  to  mur- 
der. Torture  was  frequently  practiced. 

The  question  at  once  arose,  whether  a wholly  new  code 
— presumably  that  existing  in  Japan — should  be  enacted 
“ in  the  lump,”  so  to  say,  and  enforced  upon  the  Korean 
people ; or  whether  the  attempt  should  be  made,  so  far 
as  possible,  to  reduce  to  system  and  to  improve  the 
existing  customs  and  laws.  Happily,  for  the  final  re- 
sult, the  latter  of  the  two  plans  was  adopted.  To  this 
end.  Dr.  Ume,  professor  in  the  Law  College  of  the  Im- 
perial University  of  Tokyo,  one  of  the  leading  framers 
of  the  Japanese  civil  code,  was  invited  to  proceed  to 
Korea.  His  first  work  was  to  draft  an  “ Immovable 
Property  Law.”  The  fundamental  purpose  of  this  law 
was  to  guarantee  to  both  natives  and  foreigners  legiti- 
mate rights  of  ownership  in  real  estate.  To  meet  the 
immediate  needs  of  the  new  courts  which  were  to  be 
opened,  the  criminal  code  then  existing  was  placed 
under  expert  revision ; and  a code  of  procedure  ap- 
plicable to  both  civil  and  criminal  cases  was  compiled  as 
a temporary  measure. 

But  to  obtain  intelligent  and  just  judges  was  of  all 
things  perhaps  the  most  difficult.  Until  very  recently  in 
Korea  there  was  no  such  thing  as  a barrister  to  defend 
a suspected  criminal ; a witness  was  in  many  cases  con- 
sidered a particeps  cruninis;  and  torture  was  a customary 


424  CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 

means  for  procuring  evidence.  At  first  a Japanese  legal 
assistant  was  appointed  to  each  court  connected  with 
the  officers  of  the  governors  and  prefects ; and  a “ police- 
adviser  ” was  stationed  in  each  district  to  act  as  assist- 
ant to  the  magistrate  of  that  district.  But  this,  although 
some  good  results  followed,  was  found  to  be  an  irritat- 
ing and  insufficient  remedy. 

The  most  desperate  demand  for  judicial  reform  in 
Korea  comes  from  the  ignorance,  corruption,  and  extor- 
tion of  the  local  magistrate.  It  therefore  has  become 
necessary  to  deprive  him  of  all  unrestricted  judicial 
functions  whatever. 

A reorganized  police  system  was  a necessary  adjunct 
of  the  measures  instituted  by  the  Japanese  administra- 
tion for  the  reform  of  the  public  justice  in  Korea.  This 
reorganization  took  place  as  follows : 8 police  stations, 
4 branch  stations  and  40  sub-branch  stations,  under  the 
charge  of  the  metropolitan  police  board ; and  20  stations, 
39  branch  stations,  and  297  sub-branch  stations,  in  the 
other  provinces.  The  numbers  of  Japanese  who  have 
been  appointed  to  the  Korean  police  force  are  in  all,  24 
inspectors,  115  captains,  1,698  constables,  54  physicians, 
and  12  interpreters;  while  the  Korean  members  of  the 
force  number  17  inspectors,  97  captains,  3,057  constables, 
and  4 interpreters.  Under  the  present  system  the 
Koreans  have  one  Japanese  officials  for  each  2,727  units 
of  the  population,  the  total  Korean  population  being 
9,781,671.  In  connection  with  this  reform  of  the  judi- 
ciary system,  stand  the  plans  which  are  formed  and  as 
rapidly  as  possible  are  to  be  carried  out,  for  the  build- 
ing of  new  prisons,  and  the  more  sanitary  and  humane 
care  of  the  prisoners.  Already,  in  many  places  the 
Koreans  themselves  are  resorting  to  the  Japanese  rather 
than  to  their  own  magistrates  for  escape  from  the  evils 


JAPANESE  ADMINISTRATION  IN  KOREA  425 

of  bribery  and  extortion,  and  for  the  better  administra- 
tion of  justice. 

It  would  seem  that,  in  spite  of  considerable  improve- 
ments already  secured  by  the  new  judiciary  system,  and 
a certain  growing  acceptableness  of  it  on  the  part  of  the 
common  people,  the  administration  has  found  it  neces- 
sary to  the  more  perfect  maintenance  of  a system  of 
public  justice,  to  take — at  least  until  the  Koreans  them- 
selves can  be  trained  to  fitness  for  it — the  entire  matter 
under  its  more  immediate  and  exclusive  control.  The 
latest  news  from  the  Far  East — as  late  indeed  as  the 
latter  part  of  July — brings  tbe  announcement  of  a “ New 
Japanese-Korean  Convention  ” on  this  subject.  Of  this 
convention,  the  following  three  articles  are  the  most  im- 
portant : 


ARTICLE  III 

The  Japanese  courts  in  Korea  shall  apply  Korean  laws 
to  Korean  subjects,  except  in  cases  specially  provided 
for  in  agreements  or  in  laws  and  ordinances. 

ARTICLE  IV 

Korean  local  authorities  and  public  functionaries  shall, 
according  to  their  respective  functions,  submit  to  control 
and  direction  of  Japanese  competent  authorities  in  Korea 
and  render  assistance  to  those  authorities  in  respect  of 
administration  of  justice  and  prison. 

ARTICLE  V 

The  Government  of  Japan  shall  bear  all  expenses  con- 
nected with  administration  of  justice  and  prisons  in 
Korea. 

It  is  evident  from  the  terms  of  this  “ New  Conven- 


426 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


tion  ” that  the  successful  issue  of  attempts  to  reform  the 
public  justice  in  Korea  will  hence-forth  more  than  ever 
depend  upon  the  training,  tact,  and  spirit  of  equity  and 
good-will  of  the  Japanese  themselves. 

Underneath  and  back  of  all  the  plans  for  the  reform 
and  uplift — economic,  judicial,  social,  and  moral — of  the 
Korean  people,  lies,  of  course. 


The  Improvement  and  Development  of  the  System  of 
Public  Education 

Up  to  the  establishment  of  the  Japanese  protectorate 
over  Korea,  the  mission  schools  have  provided  the 
only  means  for  supplying,  even  inadequately  and  imper- 
fectly, this  imperative  need  of  better  facilities  for  both 
the  public  and  the  higher  education. 

It  has  been  the  wise  policy  of  the  Japanese  adminis- 
tration in  Korea  to  make  primary  the  education  of  the 
people  for  the  successful  pursuit  of  those  employments 
which  should  engage  them  in  after  life. 

In  August  of  1906,  general  regulations  for  govern- 
ment and  common  schools,  based  on  the  educational 
system  of  advanced  countries,  were  issued  by  Imperial 
Edict  and  by  decree  of  the  Minister  of  Education.  A 
voluntary  system  of  attendance  was  adopted,  since  the 
poverty  of  the  Koreans  made  impracticable  at  present  a 
decree  of  compulsory  attendance;  but  to  encourage  at- 
tendance, both  tuition  and  text-books  were  made  free. 
The  common-school  course  is  limited  to  four  years ; and 
in  this  course,  instruction  is  given  in  morals,  the  lan- 
guages of  Korea,  China,  and  Japan,  in  arithmetic,  geog- 
raphy and  history,  physics,  drawing,  and  physical  exer- 
cises. Sewing  and  other  domestic  accomplishments  are 
added  for  the  girls ; while  music,  manual  training,  and 
lessons  in  agriculture  and  industry  can  be  taken  as 


JAPANESE  ADMINISTRATION  IN  KOREA  427 

voluntary  courses.  Under  this  system  all  private  schools 
are  required  to  register  an  account  of  their  equipment, 
curriculum,  etc.,  in  order  to  obtain  recognition  from  the 
Government.  Since  the  enforcement  of  the  present  law, 
up  to  the  middle  of  last  May,  782  existing,  and  307  new 
schools — exclusive  of  745  religious  schools — making  a 
total  of  1,834.  had  registered;  and  of  these  the  Govern- 
ment had  been  able  to  examine  440  and  accept  337.  In 
a speech  a month  later.  Minister  of  Education  Yi  stated 
that  the  number  of  applications  had  already  reached 
1,900,  of  which  the  Government  had  been  able  to  deal 
with  only  about  600. 

The  number  of  common  scnools  up  to  the  year  1907 
was  nine  Government  schools,  including  that  attached 
to  the  normal  school,  and  forty-one  public  schools ; but 
this  year  public  common  schools  were  established  in 
eight  other  places.  With  the  growing  demand  for  the 
education  of  women,  in  April  of  1908,  the  “ Girls  Higher 
School  Ordinance  " and  the  regulations  for  its  enforce- 
ment were  promulgated ; and  the  Seoul  Higher  School 
for  Girls  was  established  at  the  same  time.  In  January 
of  1908,  the  different  Government  language  schools  were 
combined  and  named  the  “ Seoul  Government  Language 
School.” 

Besides  the  common  schools,  the  following  educational 
institutions  deserve  a special  mention ; and,  first 


The  Normal  School 

In  order  that  the  training  of  teachers  for  the  public 
school  system  might  be  uniform  and  competent,  the  Gov- 
ernment instituted  in  August,  1906,  a normal  school ; and 
at  the  same  time  it  promulgated  an  edict  that  no  private 
normal  school  would  be  recognized,  but  that  every  nor- 
mal school  must  be  founded  by  either  the  central  or  the 


428 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


provincial  Government.  In  this  school  the  regular  course 
is  three  years ; tuition,  board  and  clothing  are  given  to 
all  regular  students.  A new  building  for  this  school  was 
completed  in  December,  1907.  By  the  end  of  the  month 
there  were  106  students  enrolled,  under  five  Japanese 
and  three  Korean  teachers.  In  this  connection  it  is  per- 
tinent to  mention  the  existence  in  Seoul,  at  the  end  of 
the  year  1907,  of  one  high  school  and  five  foreign  lan- 
guage schools. 

One  of  my  pleasantest  experiences  while  in  Seoul  was 
in  attendance  on  the  opening  ceremonies  of 


The  Government  School  of  Industry  or  Polytechnic 

School 

Under  centuries  of  misrule  and  plunder  the  artistic 
and  artisan  work,  for  which  Korea  was  at  one  time  rather 
celebrated,  had  become  almost  extinct.  The  Japanese  ad- 
ministration in  Korea  has  undertaken  to  revive  and  im- 
prove it.  Six  courses  were  to  be  given  in  this  institu- 
tion: namely,  in  (i)  dyeing  and  weaving,  (2)  keramics, 
(3)  metal  work,  (4)  wood  work,  (5)  applied  chemistry, 
and  (6)  civil  engineering.  At  the  first  entrance  exam- 
ination in  April,  1907,  there  were  1,100  applications,  of 
which  only  74  were  passed  upon  favorably.  In  addition 
to  free  tuition  and  lodging,  an  allowance  of  six  yen  each 
month  is  made  to  each  student.  The  report  of  the  re- 
sults already  reached  in  April  22,  1909,  was  most  en- 
couraging. 

A School  of  Commerce 

was  opened  in  Seoul  last  December,  which  owed  its  in- 
ception to  the  generous  gift  of  a citizen  of  Tokyo,  Mr. 
K.  Okura,  who  gave  for  this  purpose  the  sum  of  200,000 
yen. 


JAPANESE  ADMINISTRATION  IN  KOREA  429 

Prominent  among  the  educational  matters  undertaken 
by  the  Japanese  administration  in  Korea  for  the  bless- 
ing of  the  common  people  is  the  institution  of 


A Medical  School 

which  is  attached  to  the  Tai-Han  hospital,  and  which  is 
designed  to  give  a modern  medical  training  to  Korean 
doctors  and  nurses.  Its  teaching  force  in  Januar>%  1908, 
consisted  of  three  Japanese  professors,  three  Korean 
doctors,  and  one  American  physician.  Dr.  Scranton,  who 
had  been  for  many  years  medical  missionar}'  of  the 
American  M.  E.  Church  North.  The  course  of  instruc- 
tion extends  over  four  years  for  medicine,  three  years 
for  pharmacy,  and  one  year  for  mid-wifery  and  nursing. 
Those  who  pass  the  entrance  examinations  with  good 
marks  are  received  as  Government  students,  all  their  ex- 
penses for  clothing,  dormitory  and  tuition  being  given 
to  them ; while  in  the  cases  of  other  students  the  fees 
only  are  remitted  and  te.xt-books  are  lent. 

I have  spoken  of  the  medical  school  as  attached  to  the 
Tai-Han  hospital.  Up  to  the  institution  of  this  enter- 
prise there  was  no  adequately  equipped  hospital  on  a 
large  scale,  although  there  were  several  fairly  well-con- 
ducted hospitals  organized  by  foreign  missionary  socie- 
ties or  by  the  municipalities  of  the  various  Japanese 
settlements.  In  accordance  with  the  advice  of  the 
Resident-General,  the  Korean  Government  decided  in 
1906,  to  establish  one  large  new  hospital  by  combining 
the  three  small  hospitals  which  had  hitherto  been  under 
its  control.  During  the  first  year  175  in-patients  were 
received  by  the  Tai-Han  hospital;  and  2,767  out-patients 
were  treated,  of  whom  1,928  were  Koreans. 

The  formerly  prevailing  filthy  conditions  of  living, 
and  the  ravages  of  filth-diseases  among  the  Koreans  are 


430 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


difficult  even  of  imagination  by  one  who  has  not  traveled 
either  in  that  country  or  in  China.  To  improve  these 
conditions  and  prevent  these  ravages,  the  Government 
loaned  large  sums  of  money  for  installing  water-works 
in  three  of  the  principal  cities  of  Korea ; to  Chemulpo 
the  sum  of  2,170,000  yen;  to  Ping-yang  1,300,000  yen; 
and  as  a subsidy  to  Fusan,  350,000  yen. 

The  difficulty  of  enforcing  measures  for  the  improved 
sanitation  of  the  country  is  greatly  increased  by  the 
poverty,  and  especially  by  the  superstition  of  the  people. 
To  diminish  the  scourge  of  smallpox  the  Government 
undertook  to  enforce  vaccination.  Between  May  5 and 
June  22  of  this  year,  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  police, 
5,245  persons  were  vaccinated  in  Chemulpo ; but  when 
the  attempt  was  made  to  carry  out  the  regulation  in  a 
neighboring  village  of  forty  houses,  the  entire  village 
fled  precipitately  to  the  mountains,  under  the  impression 
that  the  Japanese  intended  to  paralyze  them  by  injecting 
poison  into  their  veins.  Measures  have  also  been  en- 
acted and  to  a certain  degree  enforced  for  the  suppres- 
sion of  cholera,  typhoid  fever,  dysentery  and  diphtheria. 

There  are  several  large  and  indefinite  interests,  which 
are,  however,  vitally  related  to  the  success  of  the  Japa- 
nese administration  in  Korea,  that  cannot  be  treated  in 
the  statistical  way.  Among  these  is  its  relation  to  the 
foreign  religious  teachers  and  missionary  bodies  estab- 
lished in  Korea.  From  the  first,  the  attitude  of  the 
administration,  so  far  as  the  Resident-General  could 
control  it,  has  been  toward  these  moral  and  religious 
forces,  characterized  by  justice,  generosity,  and  the  effort 
to  secure  their  active  co-operation  for  the  good  of  the 
Korean  people.  It  was  in  part  to  assist  in  bringing  about 
an  understanding  of  this  attitude  that  His  Excellency 
invited  me  to  Seoul  as  his  guest  in  the  spring  of  1907. 
What  was  then  doubted  by  many  is  now,  I believe. 


JAPANESE  administration  IN  KOREA  431 

doubted  by  none  who  are  competent  to  give  a judgment. 
Prince  Ito  has  labored  throughout,  with  unsparing  in- 
dustry and  consummate  skill  for  the  welfare  of  the  com- 
mon people  of  Korea.  His  settled  policy  toward  the 
Christian  missionaries  is  clearly  defined  in  the  closing 
words  of  his  report  published  in  English  about  six 
months  ago. 

Almost  exactly  a year  later,  in  December  of  1908,  the 
same  distinguished  authority,  in  addressing  the  delegates 
who  had  come  from  every  quarter  to  Seoul  to  attend  the 
opening  exercises  of  the  recently  completed  Y.  M.  C.  A. 
building,  and  at  a banquet  given  by  His  Excellency  in 
their  honor,  spoke  as  follows : “ In  the  early  years  of 

Japan’s  reformation  the  senior  statesmen  were  opposed 
to  religious  toleration,  especially  because  of  distrust  of 
Christianity.  But  I fought  vehemently  for  freedom  of 
belief  and  propagation,  and  finally  triumphed.  My 
reasoning  was  this:  Civilization  depends  upon  morality, 

and  the  highest  morality  upon  religion.  Therefore,  reli- 
gion must  be  tolerated  and  encouraged.  It  is  for  the 
same  reason  that  I welcome  the  Young  Men’s  Chris- 
tian Association,  believing  that  it  is  a powerful  ally  in 
the  great  task  I have  undertaken  in  attempting  to  put 
the  feet  of  Korea  upon  the  pathway  of  true  civilization.” 
On  the  other  hand,  it  should  be  remembered  that  the 
Resident-General  had  been  sorely  tried  by  the  conduct 
of  the  Koreans,  who  had  been  using  this  and  other 
Christian  organizations  for  secret  purposes  of  sedition 
and  assassination ; by  the  fact  that  not  all  the  foreign 
missionaries  had  uniformly  confined  their  offices  to  the 
moral  and  religious  sphere,  but  had  on  occasion  taken  an 
active  part  in  politics ; and  by  the  fact  that  reports  detri- 
mental to  his  plans — sometimes  true,  indeed,  but  oftener 
false  or  grossly  exaggerated — were  being  sent  abroad 
without  giving  the  Government  a chance  for  investiga- 


432 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


tion,  and  for  the  punishment  of  those  found  guilty.  It, 
therefore,  affords  a peculiar  pleasure  to  the  writer  to 
record  the  fact,  that  at  the  present  time  the  forces  of  the 
Japanese  administration  and  the  foreign  moral  and  reli- 
gious forces  are,  for  the  most  part,  in  hearty  active  co- 
operation for  the  welfare  and  uplift  of  the  Korean 
people.  With  this  state  of  things  continuing,  the  present 
marvelous  growth  of  missions  in  Korea  is  sure  to  ac- 
complish the  highest  good  for  all  the  parties  chiefly  in- 
terested. 

Three  years  ago  there  were  not  unreasonably  grave 
fears  expressed  that  the  rapid  immigration  of  Japanese 
settlers  into  the  land  would  result  in  driving  the  weaker 
and  less  enterprising  native  race  to  the  wall.  But  I then 
ventured  to  predict  (see  “In  Korea  with  Marquis  Ito,” 
p.  45 if.)  that  the  net  increase  in  Japanese  population  in 
Korea  for  the  next  fifty  years  would  not  greatly  exceed 
20,000  per  annum,  and  that  meantime  the  resources  of 
the  country  would  be  so  developed  as  easily  to  support, 
in  far  superior  conditions  of  living,  double  the  10,000,000 
of  its  present  population.  Moreover,  I am  one  of  those 
who  hold  the  opinion  that,  when  the  Korean  is  awakened 
and  given  a fair  chance  for  securing  his  own  economic, 
political,  and  social  betterment,  he  will  show  himself 
quite  capable  of  competing  favorably  with  the  Japanese. 
The  statistics  of  the  last  three  years  have  for  this  brief 
period  verified  the  prediction.  They  show  that,  besides 
the  Chinese,  there  are  more  Americans  residing  in  Korea 
than  subjects  of  any  other  foreign  country. 

In  no  other  way  has  the  kindly  and  far-seeing  wis- 
dom of  Prince  Ito  been  more  conspicuously  shown  than 
in  his  painstaking  efforts  to  provide  for  the  future  Korea 
a competent  and  well-trained  and  morally  well-disposed 
sovereign.  If  the  present  Crown  Prince  had  been  left 
to  the  corrupting  influences  of  the  eunuchs  and  palace 


JAPANESE  ADMINISTRATION  IN  KOREA  433 

women  surrounding  him,  there  is  scanty  reason  to  doubt 
that  he  would  have  become,  like  his  ancestors,  physically 
impotent  and  morally  degenerate.  Since  he  was  pro- 
claimed the  heir-apparent  to  the  throne,  the  Prince  has 
done  for  him  all  that  any  father  could  under  the  cir- 
cumstances do  for  his  own  son.  During  his  Residency- 
Generalship  he  accepted  the  office  of  tutor,  and  secured 
with  great  difficulty  the  consent  of  the  boy’s  parents 
and  of  the  Korean  Government  to  have  his  young  pupil 
taken  to  Japan  for  an  education  befitting  his  position 
and  responsibilities  in  the  future.  His  parents,  the  ex- 
Emperor  and  Lady  Om,  who  at  first  appeared  to  suspect 
some  plan  for  the  virtual  imprisonment  if  not  the  murder 
of  their  son,  are  now  quite  reconciled  and  greatly  gratified 
with  the  proofs  they  constantly  receive  of  the  young 
man’s  physical  and  mental  advancement.  On  his  res- 
ignation of  his  position  in  Korea,  Prince  Ito  resigned 
also  his  position  as  guardian  of  the  Korean  Crown 
Prince.  But  at  the  urgent  request  of  the  latter’s  par- 
ents, and  by  command  of  his  own  Emperor,  Ito  consented 
to  continue  the  charge  under  another  name.  There  is, 
therefore,  every  prospect  possible  so  far  ahead  that 
Japan  will  redeem  its  promise  to  secure  and  protect  the 
Imperial  House  of  Korea  in  the  best  of  all  ways  pos- 
sible. This  way  there,  as  everywhere,  is  the  way  of 
making  worthy  to  rule,  by  encouraging  and  compelling 
the  rulers  to  rule  worthily. 

Perhaps  the  most  difficult  problem  of  all  those  still 
confronting  the  Japanese  administration  in  Korea,  is 
the  winning  of  the  good-will  of  the  Koreans  themselves. 
For  those  who  persist  in  insurrection,  in  arson,  robbery, 
and  murder,  as  well  of  their  peaceful  fellow  countrymen 
as  of  the  officials  of  the  Government,  I suppose  only  one 
way  of  treatment  is  possible.  But  happily,  the  insur- 
rection seems  at  present  nearly  to  have  spent  its  force. 


434 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


The  people  will  not  only  accept  the  Japanese  adminis- 
tration, but  will  welcome  it,  so  soon  and  so  far  as  they 
find  that  it  affords  them  improved  conditions  for  their 
daily  living.  The  children,  who  will  play  together,  work 
together,  teach  and  be  taught  together,  are  not  likely  to 
continue  to  hate  each  other.  Indeed,  there  is  no  little 
evidence  that  the  feelings  of  scorn  on  the  one  hand,  and 
of  bitterness  on  the  other  hand,  are  already  abating.  In- 
deed, in  some  places  they  had  already  almost  vanished 
when  I was  in  Korea.  To  this  desirable  result  it  is  the 
prime  business  and  imperative  duty  of  the  foreign  Chris- 
tian missionaries  to  bend  all  their  energies.  And  if  in 
the  long  run  they  cannot  make  a notable  contribution  to 
this  result,  they  will  in  my  judgment  fail  of  proving 
their  right  to  support  from  the  home-lands.  Above  all 
is  it  necessary  for  all  well-wishers  of  the  people  to  dis- 
courage the  newly  revivified  practice  of  assassination, 
which,  if  continued,  will  inevitably  result  in  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  nationality  of  Korea. 

All  that  has  thus  far  been  done  by  the  Japanese  ad- 
ministration for  reform  and  betterment  of  economic, 
judicial,  and  educational  conditions  among  the  people  of 
its  protectorate,  Korea,  is  indeed  only  a beginning.  But 
I submit  that,  considering  the  brevity  of  the  time  and 
the  magnitude  of  the  difficulties  involved,  it  is  a notable 
and  even  a praiseworthy  beginning.  Nations  in  the 
prophetic  future  may  be  born  in  a day ; but  nations  that 
have  degenerated  through  centuries  of  corruption  and 
misrule,  are  not  at  present  to  be  redeemed  in  a day,  and 
in  both  cases  it  must  be  remembered  that  the  “ Day  of 
the  Lord  ” is  as  a thousand  years.  In  a recent  conversa- 
tion, Admiral  Uriu  assured  me  that  he  and  the  other 
men  most  prominent  in  navy  and  army  circles  were 
heartily  in  accord  with  the  policy  of  the  late  Resident- 
General  for  the  peaceful  development  and  permanent 


JAPANESE  ADMINISTRATION  IN  KOREA  435 

friendship  of  Korea.  A yet  more  recent  communication 
prepared  by  order  of  Prince  Ito,  brings  the  assurance 
that  Viscount  Sone,  who  succeeded  to  the  position  of 
Resident-General,  is  following  the  same  line  of  policy. 
It  seems  to  me  fair,  then,  to  condone  any  failures  in  the 
past,  to  credit  present  successes,  and  to  look  into  the 
future  with  hope,  for  the  Japanese  administration  of 
Korea. 


XXII 


RELIGIOUS  CONDITIONS  IN  KOREA 

It  has  been  said  by  certain  travelers  that  Korea  is  a 
country  without  a religion.  Whether  or  not  this  is  true 
depends  upon  how  one  defines  the  word.  But  without 
attempting  to  discuss  the  question  as  to  what  should 
properly  be  called  religion,  let  us  consider  those  systems 
which  have  been  practiced  by  the  Koreans,  and  which 
are  expressions  of  their  spiritual  nature,  whether  those 
systems  are  rational  or  .superstitious. 

Previous  to  the  entrance  of  Christianity  three  forms 
of  religion  had  become  rooted  in  Korea,  Shamanism, 
Buddhism  and  Confucianism.  The  supremacy  of  each 
marked  a distinct  change  in  the  national  life.  Never- 
theless the  religious  changes  did  not  produce  eradication 
of  the  forms  previously  existing.  Buddhism  did  not 
drive  out  Shamanism,  nor  did  Confucianism  drive  out 
Buddhism.  While  holding  to  much  of  the  old,  the  peo- 
ple adopted  the  new,  and  so  we  find  to-day  the  three 
systems  living  together.  A man  may  even  practice  all 
three  in  his  own  individual  life.  It  has  been  well 
pointed  out  that  “ a Korean  will  be  a Confucianist  when 
in  society,  a Buddhist  when  he  philosophizes,  and  a 
Spirit  Worshiper  when  he  is  in  trouble.” 

The  Korean  may  also  be  called  a theist  in  addition  to 
his  other  faiths,  for  there  are  evidences  of  his  belief 
in  an  overruling  Supreme  Being,  although  not  clothed 
with  the  perfections  which  we  ascribe  to  God.  He  is 
not  a polytheist  though  he  believes  in  the  existence  of 

437 


438  CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


countless  demons.  So  far  as  he  is  a theist,  he  is  a mono- 
theist. He  calls  the  great,  overruling  being  Hananim, 
which  corresponds  to  the  Chinese  “ Lord  of  Heaven,” 
and  the  Chinese  written  character  for  it  in  use  in  Korea 
is  made  up  of  marks  which  mean  great  and  one.  The 
worship  of  this  Being  is  left  mainly  to  the  Emperor,  who 
appeals  to  him  in  times  of  national  distress,  such  as 
famine  and  pestilence.  The  name  ascribed  to  him, 
Hananim,  has  been  adopted  by  the  Protestant  mission- 
aries for  God,  and  is  so  translated  in  the  Korean  Bible 
and  Christian  literature. 

From  earliest  times  sacrifice  has  been  common  among 
the  Koreans.  On  the  top  of  Mari  Mountain  in  the 
Island  of  Kangwha  there  is  a stone  platform  called 
“ Tangun’s  Altar.”  Tangun,  the  first  king  of  the 
ancient  tribes  in  Korea,  offered  sacrifice  there  and  built 
an  altar  for  the  purpose  in  2265  b.c.,  according  to  the 
most  authentic  records.  At  the  time  of  the  Manchu  in- 
vasion in  1637  A.D.,  the  king  ordered  a great  sacrifice 
in  behalf  of  the  spirits  of  the  Koreans  whom  the  Man- 
chus  killed.  We  find  also  records  of  an  annual  sacrifice 
in  behalf  of  the  country  and  in  the  latter  part  of  the 
eighteenth  century  orders  were  issued  as  to  where  this 
sacrifice  should  be  made.  If  the  dates  recorded  are  cor- 
rect, we  are  able  to  look  to-day  on  an  altar  which  was 
erected  in  Korea  near  the  time  of  Noah.  Another 
curious  fact,  which,  however,  we  are  unable  to  relate 
directly  to  their  religion,  is  that  the  Koreans  have 
legends  concerning  a great  flood  which  overspread  the 
land,  and  an  ark.  To  the  south  of  the  city  of  Taiku  the 
Koreans  point  out  the  mountain  peak  where  the  ark  is 
supposed  to  have  rested. 

Buddhism  was  introduced  into  Korea  in  372  a.d. 
from  China,  and  at  once  became  popular  because 
patronized  by  royalty ; soon  after  that,  priests  were  in- 


RELIGIOUS  CONDITIONS  IN  KOREA  439 


vitecl  to  come  from  China  to  teach  it.  It  may  be  said 
to  have  been  the  state  religion  for  looo  years.  Profes- 
sor II.  B.  Hulbert,  in  his  " History  of  Korea,”  writes : 
“ In  1065,  the  king’s  son  cut  his  hair  and  became  a 
Buddhist  monk.  A law  was  passed  forbidding  the  kill- 
ing of  any  animals  for  a period  of  three  full  years.  A 
monastery  was  built  in  the  capital,  consisting  of  2,800 
kan  each  eight  feet  square.  This  gave  a floor  space  of 
nearly  180,000  square  feet,  the  equivalent  of  a building 
one-third  of  a mile  long  and  one  hundred  feet  wide.  It 
required  twelve  years  to  complete  it.  A great  feast 
lasting  five  days  marked  its  opening,  at  which  thousands 
of  monks  from  all  over  the  country  participated.  There 
was  a magnificent  awning  of  pure  silk  which  formed  a 
covered  passageway  from  the  palace  to  the  monastery, 
in  which  was  a pagoda  on  which  one  hundred  and  forty 
pounds  of  gold  and  four  hundred  and  twenty-seven 
pounds  of  silver  were  lavished.”  Large  tracts  of  land 
were  given  to  the  Buddhist  monasteries,  many  of  which 
remain  in  their  possession  at  the  present  time. 

About  1100  A.D.  Buddhism  came  into  conflict  with 
Confucianism,  because  of  the  corruption  of  the  former 
and  the  superior  ethical  teachings  of  the  latter.  The  re- 
sult was  that  Buddhism  was  disestablished  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  present  dynasty  in  1392.  To-day  it  would 
be  difficult  for  the  ordinary  traveler  to  find  the  remains 
of  Buddhism.  He  must  go  off  the  beaten  line  of  travel, 
for  there  he  will  see  no  temples,  no  shrines,  nothing  to 
remind  him  of  that  ancient  system  which  for  a thousand 
years  swayed  the  minds  and  hearts  of  the  people.  When 
he  has  learned  to  distinguish  the  types  of  dress,  he  will 
occasionally  recognize  Buddhist  priests  on  the  streets  of 
the  cities,  for  they  are  now  allowed  to  enter,  although  in 
1392  they  were  forbidden.  There  are  some  ancient 
temples  among  the  hills  where  Buddhist  priests  can  be 


440 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


found  performing  the  mystic  rites,  but  the  temples  are 
not  frequented  by  the  people. 

Confucianism  dominates  the  mind  of  Korea  and  may 
be  called  the  foundation  on  which  society  there  is  reared. 
Strictly  speaking,  this  system  can  scarcely  be  called  a 
religion,  yet  it  should  be  considered,  for  it  influences  the 
moral  and  superstitious  life  of  the  people.  It  entered 
Korea  from  China  some  time  after  the  entrance  of 
Buddhism  and  affects  all  departments  of  life  from  the 
cradle  to  the  grave.  The  five  laws  of  society  on  which 
it  rests  are:  the  relations  between  king  and  subject, 
father  and  son,  husband  and  wife,  older  and  younger, 
and  friends.  There  are  also  five  virtues,  love,  righteous- 
ness, ceremony,  knowledge  and  faith,  and  five  original 
elements,  metal,  wood,  water,  fire  and  earth.  Dr.  Gale 
says,  “ These  five  laws,  five  virtues  and  five  elements  con- 
stitute the  Korean  world  of  thought.”  Confucianism 
has  many  noble  sentiments,  but  it  has  hindered  progress 
and  caused  national  stagnation.  Beneath  it  all  is  an- 
cestor-worship ; the  spirits  of  departed  ancestors  must 
be  worshiped  for  fear  that  harm  will  come  to  the  family 
if  it  is  omitted.  The  oldest  male  member  of  the  family 
must  perform  this  sacrificial  rite ; hence  the  desire  for  a 
son  in  the  family,  and  the  origin  of  early  marriage.  The 
prolonged  watching  at  graves  has  produced  various 
forms  of  sickness ; bodies  long  unburied  have  often 
caused  most  unsanitary  conditions.  Confucianism  has 
debased  woman  in  this  life  and  consigned  her  soul  to 
hell  when  she  dies.  The  family  resources  have  been  ex- 
hausted for  the  sake  of  maintaining  ancestor-worship. 
All  these  things  have  conspired  to  produce  ideals  and  to 
demand  conditions  of  life  which  hinder  the  full  develop- 
ment of  the  individual  and  of  the  nation. 

Shamanism  has  been  present  from  the  earliest  times. 
It  is  really  demon-worship : countless  evil  spirits  are 


RELIGIOUS  CONDITIONS  IN  KOREA  441 


everywhere,  ready  to  injure  and  torment,  but  they  may  be 
appeased  by  sacrifice.  The  Shaman  is  of  two  orders,  the 
Pansu,  who  is  the  blind  e.xorcist,  and  the  Mutang,  the 
female  sorcerer.  They  belong  to  a low  social  rank,  yet 
hold  a very  important  position  in  the  life  of  the  nation. 
The  difference  between  the  powers  of  the  two  is  that  the 
Pansu  is  really  master  of  the  demons,  and  if  they  will 
not  do  his  bidding  voluntarily  he  can  use  force  and  com- 
pel them.  The  Mutang,  on  the  other  hand,  has  power 
only  to  placate  the  spirits  and  can  get  them  to  do  her 
bidding  only  by  offering  them  sufficient  sacrifice.  Fetiches, 
also,  are  common  in  Korea.  The  evil  spirits  are  often 
supposed  to  be  frightened  away  by  grotesque  figures 
placed  on  the  roofs  of  buildings,  by  the  hideous  picture 
of  a Chinese  general  on  the  door,  or  by  other  such  means. 
South  of  the  city  of  Taiku  is  a curious  illustration  of 
this  superstition.  From  the  South  Mountain  it  is  sup- 
posed that  the  fire  spirits  used  to  come  to  set  fire  to  build- 
ings, so  an  ingenious  device  was  contrived  to  keep 
them  away.  On  one  side  of  the  road  leading  from  the 
South  Mountain  was  built  an  ice  house  and  on  the  op- 
posite side  was  placed  a huge  stone  turtle ; both  of  these 
are  suggestive  of  water,  and  it  is  believed  that  the  fire 
demons  dare  not  come  along  that  road  on  account  of 
these  two  objects. 

It  is  said  that  an  attempt  was  made  to  introduce  Roman 
Catholicism  into  Korea  late  in  the  sixteenth  century  at 
the  time  of  the  invasion  of  Korea  by  Japan  under  Hide- 
oshi ; that  Japanese  Romanists  were  sent  over,  but  that 
the  attempt  was  not  successful.  According  to  native 
records  Roman  Catholicism  first  entered  Korea  in  1686, 
being  introduced  by  foreigners.  There  is  no  definite  in- 
formation in  regard  to  this  and  we  must  date  the  begin- 
ning of  the  Roman  Catholic  propaganda  from  late  in  the 
eighteenth  century  w-hen  certain  Koreans  who  came  in 


442 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


contact  with  it  in  Peking  attempted  to  introduce  it.  It 
was  bitterly  opposed  and  both  Korean  and  French  Cath- 
olic priests  who  came  later  were  killed.  In  1837,  there 
are  said  to  have  been  9,000  Roman  Catholics  in  Korea. 
In  1839,  came  a general  persecution  when  many  were 
killed,  including  three  French  priests.  One  reason  why 
this  faith  was  bitterly  opposed  was  that  the  priests  at- 
tempted to  gain  temporal  power,  and  to  have  Western 
nations  send  armies  to  open  Korea.  They  have  never 
translated  the  Bible  for  the  people. 

The  work  which  Protestant  Christianity  undertook 
was  to  supplant  fear  with  love  and  to  make  intelligent 
faith  take  the  place  of  superstition.  We  shall  be  able  to 
judge  how  well  it  has  begun  its  work  as  we  consider 
what  it  has  already  done. 

Until  1882,  when  Western  nations  began  to  make 
treaties  with  them,  the  Koreans  were  a hermit  nation,  and 
the  political,  social  and  religious  systems  under  which 
they  lived  gave  no  proper  incentive  for  development. 
The  history  of  their  achievements,  however,  will  show 
that  there  is  much  intellectual  acumen  among  them,  and 
that  when  the  proper  incentive  is  put  before  them  they 
manifest  remarkable  mental  ability.  We  might  mention 
in  passing  some  of  the  facts  in  their  later  history  which 
show  what  they  have  accomplished.  In  1592  the  Koreans 
built  a suspension  bridge  across  the  Imchin  river,  using 
for  cables  fifteen  heavy  strands  of  a tough  fibrous  vine 
twisted  together  and  anchored  securely  at  the  ends. 
Branches  and  earth  were  used  to  make  the  roadway,  and 
across  this  bridge  their  allies,  the  Chinese  army,  passed. 
In  the  same  year  they  devised  a bomb  and  mortar  which 
was  known  as  the  “ flying  thunderbolt  ” ; and  the  great 
Admiral  Sun  Sin  invented  an  iron-clad  war  vessel  which 
did  great  damage  to  the  invading  Japanese  fleet.  This 
vessel  was  built  in  the  form  of  a tortoise.  The  head  was 


RELIGIOUS  CONDITIONS  IN  KOREA  443 


used  for  ramming,  and  certain  iron  scales  on  the  back 
could  be  lifted  for  the  purpose  of  shooting  fire  arrows. 

The  Koreans  used  movable  printing  type  before  the 
days  of  Gutenberg  and  more  than  400  years  ago  one  of 
their  wise  emperors  caused  to  be  invented  an  alphabet 
of  twenty-five  simple  characters  with  which  they  write 
phonetically.  This  is  founded  on  the  Chinese  seal  and 
the  ancient  Tibetan  characters  taken  from  the  Sanscrit. 
Some  of  the  finest  brass-work  in  the  world  is  now  made 
in  Korea.  Wherever  Koreans  are  employed  by  Western- 
ers to-day,  in  their  own  country,  in  Hawaii,  Mexico, 
Yucatan,  the  United  States,  they  are  found  to  be  superior 
workmen.  The  national  calamity  which  has  overtaken 
Korea  is  giving  an  opportunity  for  the  young  men  espe- 
cially to  show  their  ability,  and  it  may  be  safely  said  that 
no  nation  in  the  Far  East  shows  greater  native  talent  or 
gives  promise  of  greater  future  usefulness  to  the  world 
according  to  its  strength  than  Korea. 

Probably  no  nation  in  all  the  history  of  the  Christian 
era  has  accepted  Christianity  more  rapidly  than  Korea. 
Extensively  it  has  overspread  the  entire  country  within 
a quarter  of  a century,  so  that  the  “ Jesus  Church  ” and 
the  “ Jesus  Doctrine  ” are  common  topics  of  conversa- 
tion. There  is  no  way  to  adequately  explain  the  rapid 
progress  of  the  Christian  Church  in  Korea  on  political 
or  psychological  grounds.  Many  things  have  conspired 
to  cause  her  old  governmental  and  religious  foundations 
to  crumble,  but  when  we  have  considered  them  all,  we 
must  still  say  that  her  acceptance  of  Christianity  is  be- 
yond human  understanding.  Certain  it  is  that  the  move- 
ment of  God  in  Korea  has  made  the  Church  of  Christ 
realize  that  He  is  the  same  yesterday,  to-day,  and  for- 
ever, and  that  the  same  power  which  wrought  in  the  lives 
of  the  early  apostles  is  working  to-day  to  accomplish  His 
will  in  the  earth. 


444 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


In  1882  America  secured  the  first  treaty  which  Korea 
made  with  any  Western  nation,  and  the  treaty  ports  be- 
gan to  open.  Before  that  time  foreigners  were  not  only 
unwelcome,  but  it  was  dangerous  for  them  to  try  to  enter 
Korea.  Two  years  afterwards,  in  1884,  the  Presbyterian 
Board  of  Foreign  Missions  sent  Dr.  Horace  N.  Allen, 
an  American  physican,  to  Seoul  as  the  first  Protestant 
missionary.  He  himself  has  said  that  he  was  given  the 
task  of  attempting  to  open  Korea  to  Christianity  at  the 
point  of  a physician’s  lancet.  The  work  was  well  done, 
and  to-day  the  missionary  is  not  only  admitted,  but  Korea 
is  beseeching  America  to  send  many  more  to  teach  them 
how  their  land  may  be  made  Christian.  From  the  time 
Dr.  Allen  wen^  to  Korea  until  the  present  there  has  never 
been  any  attempt  on  the  part  of  the  Korean  Government 
or  the  Korean  people  to  take  the  life  of  a foreign  mis- 
sionary, a Western  business  man  or  a diplomat. 

If  we  were  able  to  take  some  elevated  viewpoint 
where  we  could  see  the  whole  country  spread  out  before 
us  and  could  count  the  banners  of  the  Cross  which  fly 
every  Sabbath  Day  from  the  flag-masts  in  front  of  every 
church — a red  cross  on  a white  ground — we  should 
have  to  count  on  and  on  until  we  had  numbered  at  least 
1,500.  We  should  find  these  places  of  worship  scattered 
throughout  the  thirteen  provinces  which  comprise  the 
entire  land,  north,  south,  east  and  west,  and  we  should 
find  beneath  these  hundreds  of  banners,  at  least  150,000, 
and  possibly  as  many  as  200,000,  believers  of  the  true 
God.  We  should  find  groups  small  and  large,  some  a 
mere  handful,  gathered  in  a man’s  house,  others  in 
churches  accommodating  fifty,  one  hundred,  five  hundred, 
one  thousand,  and  one  thousand  five  hundred.  So  mar- 
velously have  the  Christians  multiplied  within  half  a 
dozen  years  that  many  of  the  church  buildings  are  far  too 
small  and  the  worshipers  meet  in  sections. 


RELIGIOUS  CONDITIONS  IN  KOREA  445 


This  is  true  even  of  the  large  church  in  Ping-yang, 
which  seats  more  than  1,500  people.  The  building  is  well 
filled  by  women  at  one  hour  and  by  men  at  another  hour. 
Eighteen  years  ago  when  Rev.  S.  A.  Moflfett  went  to  that 
city  to  begin  missionary  work  the  natives  pelted  him  with 
stones.  At  the  time  of  the  Chino-Japanese  War,  in 
1894,  he  had  to  flee  from  the  city.  After  the  war  he  re- 
turned and  was  able  in  the  course  of  a year  or  so  to  have 
a Sunday  congregation  of  about  a dozen  people  meeting 
in  the  home  of  one  of  the  believers.  It  was  my  privilege  to 
visit  the  city  about  ten  years  later  and  on  Sabbath  morn- 
ing to  worship  in  the  Korean  church  where  more  than 
fifteen  hundred  people  were  gathered  together.  In  an- 
other part  of  the  city  was  a church  accommodating  about 
one  thousand.  Since  that  time  three  other  churches  have 
been  built  within  the  city  walls,  all  of  which  are  filled 
to  overflowing.  Christianity  has  been  a transforming 
power  in  that  city.  Magistrates  have  testified  that  what 
was  once  one  of  the  wickedest  cities  in  that  part  of  the 
world  has  become  wonderfully  changed.  Even  Sunday 
is  observed  and  many  places  of  business  are  closed  on 
that  day. 

In  the  northern  part  of  Korea  is  a little  village  of  three 
thousand  people  who  live  in  straw-thatched  houses  hidden 
away  among  the  hills.  Eight  years  ago  there  were  but 
few  Christians  in  that  region  when  missionaries  went  to 
make  their  homes  there.  It  was  a journej'  of  three  days 
overland  from  the  city  of  Ping-yang,  a trip  to  be  taken 
by  pack  pony,  on  foot,  or  in  a sedan  chair.  Those  mis- 
sionaries did  what  people  in  America  often  facetiously 
refer  to  as  “ burying  oneself  among  the  heathen.”  About 
four  years  afterwards  it  was  my  privilege  to  visit  the 
village.  On  Sunday  morning  in  a low  Korean  building 
I found  assembled  to  worship  God  not  less  than  five 
hundred  men,  with  no  room  for  the  women.  After  the 


446 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


men  had  gone  away  the  women,  who  had  been  waiting 
their  turn,  came  in  and  filled  the  building  again.  To-day 
in  that  village  is  a church  building  built  and  largely  paid 
for  by  the  Koreans  which  seats  some  fifteen  hundred 
people.  It  is  filled  every  Sabbath  day.  Twelve  days 
overland  from  that  station  is  Kang  Kai,  where  missionary 
work  has  but  recently  been  begun.  There  is  already  a 
congregation  of  some  seven  hundred  people,  and  they 
have  planned  a church  building  which  when  completed 
will  seat  two  thousand. 

Incidents  like  the  above  might  be  multiplied  showing 
that  all  over  the  country  the  Koreans  are  attending 
church  in  large  numbers.  It  is  no  wonder  that  Mr.  John 
R.  Mott,  after  his  visit  there  some  two  years  ago,  said 
that  he  believed  that  “ If  America  would  take  advantage 
of  the  present  opportunity,  Korea,  one  of  the  last  nations 
of  the  earth  to  hear  the  Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ,  would  of 
all  non-Christian  nations  be  the  first  to  become  Chri.s- 
tian.”  It  seems  to  us  who  have  been  working  there  that 
if  the  present  rate  of  increase  continues,  another  quarter 
of  a century  will  see  the  old  religious  systems  demolished 
and  Korea  a Christian  nation. 

In  educational  lines  there  has  also  been  a remarkable 
development.  Until  about  a dozen  years  ago  the  old 
Chinese  system  of  schools  and  examinations  prevailed. 
That  has  now  been  abolished  and  everywhere  modern 
schools  are  springing  up  with  wonderful  rapidity.  About 
ten  years  ago  our  missions  reported  that  there  was  “ the 
nucleus  of  a boys’  academy  at  Ping-yang,  and  that 
the  desire  for  an  education  is  coming.”  The  prophecy 
has  been  very  rapidly  fulfilled.  The  Boys’  Academy 
now  numbers  some  four  hundred,  and  several  academies 
for  boys  and  girls  have  been  started  in  other  parts  of  the 
country.  The  figures  of  our  own  mission  show  that  in 
1902  we  had  about  1,000  pupils  in  our  schools.  The 


RELIGIOUS  CONDITIONS  IN  KOREA  447 

number  increased  by  about  i,ooo  each  year  for  four  years, 
when  we  had  some  4,000  students,  in  206  schools.  A 
year  later,  June,  1907,  we  reported  344  schools  with  over 
7,500  pupils  and  after  another  twelve  months  457  schools 
and  over  12,000  pupils.  These  schools  were  all  Christian 
and  with  the  exception  of  a very  few  were  entirely  sup- 
ported by  the  Christian  people  that  their  children  might 
be  given  the  privileges  of  a modern  education.  Other 
missions  report  a similar  condition.  A desire  for  knowl- 
edge is  permeating  the  whole  nation ; they  realize  that 
their  only  hope  of  being  able  to  take  their  place  in  the 
world’s  work,  now  that  their  country  has  been  brought 
out  of  its  seclusion,  is  in  becoming  educated  along  mod- 
ern lines. 

Thus  far  our  mission  educational  work  has  been  chiefly 
from  the  primary  up  through  the  high  school  grades,  but 
we  have  begun  college  work  and  have  introduced  indus- 
trial departments  in  some  of  our  academies.  For  the  ed- 
ucation of  the  native  ministry  both  the  Methodists  and 
Presbyterians  have  started  Bible  and  theological  schools, 
with  a constantly  increasing  number  of  students  in  at- 
tendance. 

Medical  education  has  also  been  begun.  There  are 
several  hospitals  in  charge  of  American  physicians  in 
connection  with  the  several  stations,  and  each  doctor 
has  an  average  of  something  like  one  thousand  patients 
a month  to  care  for.  In  each  one  of  the  hospitals  Ko- 
rean young  men  are  in  training.  A year  ago  Dr.  Avison 
of  the  Severance  hospital  in  Seoul  was  able  to  rejoice  in 
the  fruits  of  the  instruction  which  he  had  been  carrying 
on  for  years  when  seven  young  men  w^ere  graduated  in 
medicine.  Their  diplomas  subsequently  received  the  of- 
ficial seal  of  the  government  of  Korea  and  later  were 
also  approved  in  Japan.  Thus  a beginning  has  been 
made  in  providing  Korea  with  Christian  physicians. 


448 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


Not  only  is  the  extensive  side  of  the  work  of  great  in- 
terest, but  the  intensive  side  is  quite  as  remarkable.  The 
Koreans  are  proving  themselves  to  be  possessed  of  vital 
Christianity.  Their  eagerness  to  know  what  the  Bible 
teaches  often  puts  Western  Christians  to  shame.  The 
sale  of  the  Scriptures  has  been  so  great  that  it  has  been 
impossible  to  provide  enough  copies  to  supply  the  demand. 
When  a man  makes  profession  of  his  faith  in  Christ  he 
feels  that  he  must  own  a Bible  and  purchases  one  from 
the  book  store  or  colporteur.  For  several  months  the 
supply  of  the  Scriptures  had  been  exhausted,  and  when  a 
new  edition  of  20,000  was  ordered  they  had  all  been 
spoken  for  before  a word  was  printed,  and  it  was  found 
that  the  edition  would  be  far  too  small  to  meet  the  de- 
mand. The  entire  New  Testament  and  several  books 
of  the  Old  have  been  translated  into  the  native  character, 
and  also  into  a mixed  character  composed  of  Chinese  and 
Korean.  If  one  could  see  the  desire  for  Bible  study  he 
would  realize  that  there  is  a great  famine  in  Korea,  a 
famine  for  the  Bread  of  Life,  the  Word  of  God. 

At  the  time  of  the  Korean  New  Year  it  is  our  custom 
to  hold  men’s  Bible  institutes  for  about  ten  days,  at  the 
several  station  centers  where  the  missionaries  reside. 
The  Koreans  come  from  all  over  the  provinces,  often 
walking  long  distances,  and  many  of  them  bringing  their 
rice  with  them,  for  we  do  not  support  them  during  the 
classes.  In  Fusan,  the  southern  port,  two  years  ago 
about  300  men  came  to  the  Bible  institute ; last  year  about 
500.  In  Taiku,  seventy-five  miles  farther  north,  two 
years  ago  the  attendance  was  about  500;  the  next  year 
over  700.  In  Ping-yang,  the  city  in  the  north  which 
has  been  so  wonderfully  transformed,  about  1,000  men 
have  come  from  the  country  districts  every  year.  At  Syen 
Chyun,  where  eight  years  ago  the  missionaries  might  be 
said  to  have  “ buried  themselves  among  the  heathen,” 


RELIGIOUS  CONDITIONS  IN  KOREA  449 


last  year  some  1,200  men  attended  the  institute,  many 
of  them  walking  eleven  or  twelve  days  to  get  there  and 
walking  back  the  same  distance  in  order  to  spend  about 
ten  days  studying  the  Bible  with  the  missionaries.  One 
Korean  exclaimed : “ I am  hungry ; I want  to  be  fed.” 
He  did  not  mean  he  had  no  rice,  but  that  he  was  hungry 
for  the  Word  of  God.  He  lived  at  a considerable  distance 
from  where  the  institute  was  held,  in  a small  village  where 
there  was  a little  group  of  Christians.  They  had  no 
regular  pastor  and  could  have  the  assistance  of  the  mis- 
sionary only  a few  times  during  the  year  as  he  itinerated 
through  his  large  district,  several  thousand  square  miles 
in  extent.  That  man  had  been  appointed  by  the  mission- 
ary as  the  leader  of  that  congregation.  Whenever  they 
met  for  worship,  he  would  instruct  them  in  the  Scrip- 
tures as  best  he  could,  and  lead  them  in  their  devotions. 
For  a whole  year  he  had  been  doing  that  until  he  felt 
that  he  had  no  more  to  give  them.  Then  with  eager  ex- 
pectancy he  came  to  the  annual  Bible  institute  to  feast 
his  hungry  soul  at  the  table  of  the  Lord  on  the  Bread  of 
Life  as  it  should  be  broken  by  the  missionaries.  After 
a few  days’  instruction  he  would  go  back  to  his  village 
and  the  next  New  Year’s  attend  another  institute,  for  he 
must  remain  the  leader  of  the  congregation,  since  they 
had  no  native  pastor.  Such  is  the  condition  in  hundreds 
of  places  throughout  the  land.  The  work  has  grown  so 
rapidly  that  native  preachers  and  well-qualified  leaders 
could  not  be  prepared  rapidly  enough  to  supply  the  need. 

At  the  close  of  a meeting  in  a small  country  church 
one  of  the  Korean  Christians  came  to  me  with  this  re- 
quest : “ Pastor,  we  do  not  know  much  here  and  our 

faith  is  small.  Will  you  not  please  come  and  stay  with 
us  a long  time  and  teach  us  the  Bible?  We  will  come 
every  day  and  every  night  as  long  as  you  are  here.  Please 
come  soon  and  stay  long.”  That  request  could  not  at 


450 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


that  time  be  granted,  but  the  church  has  continued  to 
grow  and  has  been  compelled  to  enlarge  its  house  of  wor- 
ship. We  are  not  surprised  at  this  when  we  know  that 
at  the  time  the  request  was  made  the  Christians  in  that 
village  had  been  meeting  at  the  church  building  for  Bible 
study  and  prayer  among  themselves  every  night  for  two 
whole  years.  Similar  instances  can  be  multiplied  to  show 
that  all  through  the  country  there  is  a desire  to  know  the 
things  which  God  has  revealed  in  His  word. 

The  Koreans  feel  that  it  is  not  enough  merely  to  be- 
lieve in  Jesus  as  Saviour  of  the  world,  but  they  must 
propagate  their  faith,  and  so  we  find  them  going  every- 
where “ Doing  the  Doctrine,”  as  they  express  it,  and 
preaching.  This  alone  will  explain  the  rapid  and  exten- 
sive growth  of  the  church  in  that  country.  It  has  been 
a common  practice  in  recent  years  at  the  time  of  our 
men’s  annual  Bible  institutes  to  take  up  subscriptions  of 
service.  The  men  write  on  a piece  of  paper  their  names 
and  the  number  of  days  that  they  will  spend  during  the 
coming  year  preaching  directly  to  the  heathen.  So  there 
has  been  a great  service  done  by  laymen. 

The  work  has  now  become  so  extensive  that  the  mis- 
sionary has  more  than  he  can  do  to  properly  look  after 
the  needs  of  the  Christians,  to  visit  and  instruct  the 
churches  from  time  to  time,  and  to  train  and  instruct 
the  leaders.  The  churches  spring  up  spontaneously,  or 
rather  as  a result  of  the  evangelizing  efforts  of  the  native 
Christians.  A man  asked  me  if  I would  not  go  over  seven 
miles  to  a village  where  there  was  a new  group  of  Chris- 
tians. They  had  been  meeting  together  for  two  months 
and  now  had  sent  a request  that  the  missionary  visit 
them.  It  was  the  first  knowledge  I had  that  there  were 
Christians  in  that  village,  though  it  was  in  my  territory. 
A man  had  heard  the  Gospel  story  from  his  fellow  Ko- 
reans in  the  capital  city,  had  bought  a New  Testament, 


RELIGIOUS  CONDITIONS  IN  KOREA  451 


read  it  and  decided  to  be  a Christian.  He  gathered  his 
friends  together,  as  many  as  could  come,  and  there  be- 
gan a church  in  his  own  home.  Most  of  the  churches  in 
Korea  now  spring  up  after  that  fashion. 

One  of  the  clear  teachings  of  the  Bible  is  that  Chris- 
tians should  be  people  of  prayer.  This  is  carried  out  by 
the  Koreans.  They  seem  to  be  coming  into  the  Kingdom 
with  a simple  childlike  faith.  They  call  God,  Father,  and 
believe  that  He  will  do  what  He  has  promised.  In  re- 
sponse to  prayer  continued  persistently  through  several 
months,  God  fulfilled  His  promise  and  poured  out  His 
Holy  Spirit  in  such  mighty  power  some  two  years  ago, 
that  there  was  a revival  which  sw'ept  all  over  the  country 
and  which  will  take  its  place  in  the  history  of  the  Chris- 
tian Church  along  with  such  great  movements  as  the  re- 
cent revival  in  Wales.  It  seemed  in  many  respects  like  a 
repetition  of  the  coming  of  God’s  Holy  Spirit  on  the  day 
of  Pentecost,  when  confession  of  sin  and  restitution  were 
made,  lives  w'ere  changed  and  the  church  was  purified. 
One  of  my  native  helpers  told  me  that  under  the  pow’er  of 
God’s  Holy  Spirit,  the  Koreans  confessed  sins,  which  even 
the  most  extreme  torture  of  the  magistrates  w^ould  not 
have  been  able  to  wring  from  them.  We  may  speculate 
as  we  wdll  in  regard  to  such  a movement,  but  certain  it 
is  that  the  fact  of  changed  lives  shows  that  God  was 
working  in  an  unusual  manner  to  produce  righteousness 
in  the  nation. 

The  Korean  Church  is  self-supporting.  In  connection 
with  my  own  mission  w'e  have  at  the  present  time  w'ell  on 
to  one  thousand  congregations  all  supported  by  the  na- 
tive Christians.  We  have  encouraged  them  to  build 
their  own  church  buildings  and  in  probably  not  more  than 
a dozen  cases  have  we  allowed  any  money  from  America 
to  be  used  for  the  erection  of  a Korean  church,  and  then 
the  total  amount  granted  in  any  case  has  not  exceeded 


452 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


one-third  the  original  cost  of  the  building.  In  several  in- 
stances this  money  has  afterwards  been  paid  back  to  the 
mission  by  the  native  Christians.  The  Korean  Church 
has  also  sent  out  and  supports  a number  of  native  evange- 
lists. 

A great  deal  has  been  said  about  “ rice  Christians,”  a 
term  used  by  those  who  assert  that  it  is  necessary  to  of- 
fer some  material  gain  to  the  heathen  in  order  to  induce 
them  to  become  Christians.  Enough  has  been  said  to 
show  that  this  is  not  true  in  Korea,  and  that  it  would  be 
absolutely  impossible  for  us  to  offer  any  such  inducement 
to  so  many  thousands  of  people.  The  following  incident 
is  illustrative  of  the  pleasure  which  the  Koreans  have  in 
giving  of  their  means : At  the  time  the  Korean  Presby- 

terian Church  was  organized  in  September,  1907,  the 
church  decided  that  it  would  at  the  very  beginning  of  its 
existence  undertake  missionary  work.  It  selected  as  its 
mission  field  the  large  island  of  Quelpart  lying  off  the 
southern  coast  of  Korea,  where  there  were  100,000  Ko- 
reans at  that  time  unevangelized.  A subscription  was 
taken  up  to  send  out  a native  pastor  and  his  family,  and 
when  the  offering  was  counted  it  was  found  to  be  three 
times  as  much  as  was  needed,  so  they  determined  to  send 
three  men  with  their  families,  which  was  done.  Among 
those  who  contributed  were  three  brothers  who  were  rice 
farmers.  They  had  given  a tithe  of  their  income  already 
to  the  church,  but  wanted  to  add  for  this  purpose  what 
they  called  “ a freewill  offering.”  Not  having  any  ready 
money  they  decided,  after  talking  the  matter  over  to- 
gether, to  sell  their  rice  crop  and  buy  millet  and  eat  that 
during  the  coming  year.  Now  millet  is  not  so  good  a 
food  as  rice,  but  by  the  transaction  they  were  able  to  save 
and  add  to  the  Lord’s  treasury  six  dollars,  reckoned  in 
American  money.  This  is  not  an  unusual  occurrence 
showing  the  self-sacrificing  spirit  of  many  Christians  in 


RELIGIOUS  CONDITIONS  IN  KOREA  453 


Korea,  but  is  one  which  can  be  duplicated  again  and 
again.  The  Korean  Church  seems  to  be  determined  that 
Korea  shall  be  Christian.  A fact  illustrative  of  this  is 
as  follows:  Mission  work  has  recently  been  begun  in  the 
city  of  Kang  Kai,  which  is  twelve  days  overland  by  pack 
pony  from  the  nearest  station  in  the  northern  part  of 
Korea.  There  is  already  a large  congregation  there 
which  is  increasing  very  rapidly.  So  simple  is  the  faith 
of  the  people  that  the  missionary  writes  that  they  have  no 
other  expectation  than  that  the  whole  city  of  10,000  will 
soon  become  Christian. 

Korea  probably  offers  as  good  an  opportunity  as  any 
mission  field  in  the  world  for  the  study  of  the  foreign  mis- 
sionary enterprise.  The  ultimate  aim  of  foreign  mis- 
sions as  carried  on  by  the  church  to-day  is  to  establish 
throughout  the  world  a self-supporting,  self-propagating, 
self-controlling,  indigenous  church.  The  first  three  prin- 
ciples we  have  already  found  illustrated  in  Korea.  Every 
nation  must  eventually  evangelize  its  own  people.  It  is 
not  the  purpose  of  the  foreign  missionary  enterprise  to 
place  Americans  as  pastors  over  the  churches  in  foreign 
lands.  The  missionary  is  a superintendent  of  various 
forms  of  work,  educational,  evangelistic,  medical  and  lit- 
erary. He  is  teaching  them  the  principles  of  the  Chris- 
tian religion  and  training  native  leaders  who  shall  in  turn 
be  preachers  and  leaders  of  others.  The  unique  condi- 
tion in  Korea  has  made  it  possible  early  in  the  history  of 
Christian  work  there  to  establish  a church  along  the  lines 
mentioned.  It  is  not  the  hope  to  establish  an  American 
Church  in  Korea.  The  Oriental  and  Occidental  minds 
and  modes  of  life  are  very  different.  The  basic  principles 
of  Christianity  are  the  same.  The  way  in  which  the 
church  shall  express  those  principles  and  work  them  out 
in  practical  life  will  differ  in  different  lands.  Hence 
the  desire  to  establish  a church  in  Korea  which,  while 


454 


CHINA  AND  THE  FAR  EAST 


it  shall  be  Christian,  shall  be  so  adapted  as  to  accomplish 
the  work  of  Christianizing  the  whole  land  and  of  giving 
the  people  the  opportunity  to  express  themselves  in  work 
and  in  worship  in  a manner  best  suited  to  their  own  ideals 
and  modes  of  thought. 

Up  to  this  time  the  Methodist  and  Presbyterian 
Churches  have  been  doing  nearly  all  the  work  in  Korea. 
The  Northern  and  Southern  Methodist  Churches  in  the 
United  States,  the  Northern  and  Southern  Presbyterian 
Churches  in  the  United  States,  the  Australian  and  Cana- 
dian Presbyterian  Churches,  together  with  the  Society  for 
the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel  of  the  Angelican  Church, 
are  the  missionary  societies  at  present  represented  in 
Korea.  It  has  been  the  hope  that  eventually  there  can  be 
one  Church  of  Christ  in  that  land.  There  are  at  present 
co-operation  and  certain  forms  of  union.  All  the  Pres- 
byterian Churches  have  united  in  one  presbytery.  The 
Methodists  and  Presbyterians  have  united  in  educational 
work  in  the  city  of  Ping-yang,  and  the  physicians  in  the 
hospitals  of  both  missions  there  are  co-operating  in  their 
work.  A union  hymnal  has  been  published.  A religious 
newspaper  in  the  native  language,  The  Christian  News, 
and  The  Korea  Field,  which  gives  reports  in  English 
of  the  work  being  done,  Bible  translation  and  the  prepar- 
ation of  Sabbath-school  lesson  helps,  are  all  done  by 
joint  committees  of  Presbyterians  and  Methodists. 

The  influence  of  Christianity  upon  Korea  cannot  be 
estimated.  It  has  been  a constructive  force,  changing  the 
ideals  of  the  people  and  giving  them  moral  fiber.  It  has 
influenced  all  classes  of  society,  rich  and  poor,  high  and 
low,  ignorant  and  educated.  Without  doubt  it  has  helped 
to  give  a new  feeling  of  national  unity.  It  has  been 
difficult  for  the  missionaries  to  keep  the  church  at  all 
times  free  from  political  entanglements,  but  it  has  been 
the  policy  so  to  do.  We  have  said  to  the  Koreans  that 


RELIGIOUS  CONDITIONS  IN  KOREA  455 


it  is  not  our  business  to  determine  whether  they  shall 
rule  themselves  or  whether  they  shall  be  controlled  by 
another  nation,  but  that  we  are  attempting  to  establish 
the  Kingdom  of  God  which  shall  rule  within  their  hearts. 
In  spite  of  this  refusal  to  interfere  with  political  affairs 
they  have  continued  to  come  to  the  church  in  increasing 
numbers,  a fact  which  shows  that  the  Christian  Church 
is  being  established  on  the  right  foundation.  Magistrates 
have  testified  that  where  the  church  has  entered,  cities 
and  villages  have  been  transformed.  Without  doubt 
even  Japan  has  felt  the  importance  of  sending  to  Korea 
men  who  are  in  sympathy  with  this  great  religious  move- 
ment. One  of  the  judges  recently  sent  by  Japan  to  Korea 
is  an  elder  in  a Japanese  Presbyterian  Church  and  regu- 
larly attends  church  in  the  city  of  Seoul.  Other  men 
who  stand  for  Christian  principles  have  also  been  sent 
to  assist  in  working  out  Korea’s  destiny.  Korea  is  now 
entering  upon  a new  era.  What  it  shall  be  politically  no 
one  can  foretell,  but  if  the  history  of  the  Christian  Church 
continues  making  progress  as  it  has  within  the  past 
quarter  of  a century,  and  especially  within  the  past  ten 
years,  it  is  safe  to  prophesy  that  Korea  will  become  a 
Christian  nation. 


Date  Due 

»/?  - 

2 ^ 

• 

DS721 .863 

China  and  the  Far  East ... 


Princeton  Theological  Semmary-Speer  Library 


1 1012  00023  4692 


